Box Score
The Bruins basketball team overcame an energetic hometown crowd to win their 10th straight victory with a 87-78 win over the Pensacola Christian College Eagles on Saturday night. With the win, the Bruins improve to 17-10 on the season and 7-0 in region play.
"We're happy but not satisfied," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "We don't talk about championships. We talk about reaching our potential and we haven't done that yet."
The Bruins and Eagles met earlier in the 2017-18 season with the Bruins winning handily 98-81 in Greenville. The team was coming off a region victory on Thursday night over Toccoa Falls College. The Eagles crowd was out in full voice as the next chapter of the rivalry was set to be written.
Justin Matthews knocked down a three point shot to open the scoring as the Bruins were off and running with a 12-2 lead. The Eagles weren't about to back down as they came roaring back to take a 19-17 lead near the midway point of the first half. The Eagles continued to maintain their lead thanks to the scoring touch of Dakota Pratt who finished the game with 24 points.
As the half was coming to a close, the Bruins found the spark they needed from their senior Dustin Killough as the captain knocked down back to back threes to help the Bruins battle back to take a 45-43 lead at the break.
After Jayson Barnhart scored two baskets and Justin Matthews knocked down a three, the Bruins stretched their lead over the Eagles 52-45. Killough again provided the boost for the Bruins as his three pointer gave the team a 66-53 lead. He was deadly from three-point range on the night as the senior shot 6-8 from beyond the arc.
With just over two minutes to play, the Bruins had the ball and the lead. Justin Matthews knocked down a three-point dagger as the shot clock expired to give the Bruins a 85-78 lead. Quez Fisher threw down an emphatic dunk on the next possession to put an exclamation point on an 87-78 win.
"Dustin and Justin's senior leadership for us tonight was fantastic," Coach Uwarow said. "They each hit big shots for us while Quez, Jayson and Chris have become a powerful force for us down low. PCC has a really nice team with some really good pieces. We were fortunate to come out of there with a win."
Dustin Killough had 28 points and 8 rebounds on the night to lead the team while Justin Matthews had 17 points and 8 assists. Jayson Barnhart finished with 21 points and 5 rebounds while Nate Ellenwood scored 10 points and had 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals in the game.
Next up, the Bruins will close out the regular season of play on Saturday as they welcome Columbia International University. It is also senior night for the Bruins as they honor the five seniors on the squad this season. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
