The Bruins picked up their first region win of the season on Saturday afternoon as the team defeated Trinity Baptist College 96-73 in the Davis Field House. It was a great team win for the Bruins as six different players scored in double figures with Devin Dean leading the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
"Trinity has a really similar lineup to us," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "We wanted to see how we could compete against them. There were a lot of good things that we saw out there tonight and we were happy to get the win."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of a season-opening loss to Piedmont College last Saturday. The Bruins were scheduled to play on the road Thursday but the game was canceled due to COVID precautions.
The Eagles came into Saturday's game at 1-0 after defeating Trinity College (FL) in their season opener. The Bruins and Eagles were ready to write the next chapter of this region rivalry as both teams took the court.
From the opening tip, the Bruins came out strong as they worked the ball in the paint for Kendall Norrington who came away with points. Daniel Fuller also hit a three for the Bruins as the team opened the game with a 12-2 run and forced the Eagles into a timeout.
TBC came out strong out of the timeout as they went on a run of their own to cut the lead to 15-13. The Bruins kept the upper hand thanks to threes from Fuller and Mark Dickerson as the team led 25-18.
The story of the first half was the tough-nosed defense for the Bruins as the team forced the Eagles into several turnovers and tough shots. The Bruins then used those opportunities to turn into fast break points and points in the paint. As a result, the Bruins closed out the half strong to take a 52-28 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Bruins came out looking to bury the Eagles as Kendall Norrington scored seven straight points, including hitting a three, to help the Bruins lead 60-34.
It looked as though the Bruins would run away with the game, but the Eagles had other plans as they came roaring back with a big run as a layup by Ethan Bray cut the lead to 83-70 forcing the Bruins to call timeout.
The team responded well out of the timeout as Devin Dean converted a three-point play and Heyes Brush and Chapman Harwood added layups to increase the lead. The Eagles tried to make one last run, but the Bruins made key shots down the stretch as they eventually ran away with the game in a 96-73 win.
"This was probably Kendall's best game and we just had a lot of guys play key roles for us tonight," Coach Uwarow said. "I really view the teams that I coach as having 8-10 starters. We have a team culture that is unselfish enough to be able to celebrate the guy next to them. We were also able to limit turnovers which helped us a lot tonight."
Devin Dean's double-double led the Bruins but Kendall Norrington had a big night shooting a perfect 6-6 from the field scoring 16 points and 4 rebounds. Daniel Fuller hit four threes in the game to finish with 14 points while Elijah Cupples and Hayes Brush each finished with 12. Mark Dickerson had a big contribution off the bench with 11 points and 3 steals in the win.
Next up, the Bruins will be back home again on Tuesday night as they welcome Campbellsville-Harrodsburg to the Davis Field House. Tip-off for the game is set for 6 p.m.
