Despite a dominant performance by Bruins captain Jayson Barnhart with 27 points and 7 rebounds, the Bruins came up short as the team fell to Johnson and Wales University 87-68 on Tuesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina. With the loss, the Bruins have dropped two of their last three and fall to 2-13.
"This game continues to prepare us for our regional tournament," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "You can't simulate in practice the kind of speed that Johnson and Wales played with tonight. We're better having played them."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of a loss last week to Erskine College. The team was looking to get back into the winning column as they took the court at the Wildcat center.
Both teams exchanged baskets and the lead in the opening minutes as the score remained close. The Wildcats then went on a 22-6 run over the course of ten minutes as the Bruins couldn't seem to get any sustained offensive rhythm going. In fact, the Bruins would score just four points in the final eight minutes of the half as they trailed JWU 45-22 at the break.
In the second half, the Bruins knew they had some ground to make up as they came out of the locker room. Back to back three-pointers by the Wildcats made it seem as if JWU would run away with the game. The Bruins refused to quit as the team went on a 16-0 run near the midway point of the half to claw their way back into the game. After Cam McKennedy made a layup, the Bruins trailed 68-52.
With the game coming to a close, the Bruins tried to muster one last run to get back into the game. Unfortunately, the deficit was just too much to overcome as the Wildcats made the shots they needed to down the stretch to win 87-68.
"We didn't quit," Coach Uwarow said. "I am proud of our guys for coming out in the second half and continuing to work hard. We did some very good things defensively and we just got worn out at the end."
Barnhart led the way with 27 points and 7 rebounds as the senior shot 73% from the field for the game. Zac Orr and Quiyante Burroughs were the only other Bruins in double figures as Orr finished with 11 points and 5 assists and Burroughs tallied 10 points.
Next up, the Bruins will return home as the team welcomes region-rival Pensacola Christian College to the Davis Field House on Friday night.
