The Bruins suffered a hard-fought loss on Thursday night as the team fell to Erskine College 88-74 in the Davis Field House. Jon Allen led the Bruins with 16 points and 7 rebounds off the bench as the team falls to 11-12 on the season.
"I was very happy with our effort tonight," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "We had too many turnovers but we did a great job guarding the three in the second half. We accomplished some of our goals and I am happy where we are at after playing two tough games this week."
The Bruins came into the game looking for a win as the team had dropped three of their last four games. Erskine College came into the game in the midst of a three-game losing streak.
The two teams met back at the end of January in Due West, South Carolina, as the Fleet ran away with a 108-100 victory. As the two teams took the court in front of the Bruin faithful, both teams hoped they could add another "W" to their season schedule.
From the opening tip, the Fleet came out strong as they used good ball movement to open lanes to score. The Bruins committed several turnovers in the early goings as they fell behind 10-2 just over three minutes into the game.
After a timeout, Coach Uwarow subbed in Hayes Brush and the freshman provided a spark scoring seven straight points as the Bruins clawed their way back into the game. Senior Jon Allen also had a strong first half as he hit three three-point shots to give the Bruins a 22-19 lead.
The Fleet came right back as they went on a 14-3 run to retake the lead. While the Bruins chipped away at the deficit, the team struggled to maintain a consistent offensive rhythm and the Fleet took advantage to build their lead to 46-35 at halftime.
In the second half, the Bruins were determined to get back into the game and it showed in the early stages as Zac Orr made back to back layups in the paint to cut the lead to 49-42. With each short run, the Bruins gathered momentum but the Fleet continued to keep the upper hand thanks to key baskets.
With just over eight minutes remaining, Nate Ellenwood scored on a layup to bring the Bruins to the closest they had been since the beginning stages of the game as the team trailed 67-62. Another 11-2 run proved costly as the Fleet again took a double-digit lead.
The Bruins tried to battle back in the final minutes but the Fleet wouldn't be denied the win as they made shots and free throws down the stretch to win the game 88-74.
"We knew this was going to be a week where we were going to be challenged by some good teams," Coach Uwarow said. "When you play teams like Erskine they expose things you still need to work on. We did a lot of things well tonight and I was proud of the way we played but also see things we need to work on in practice as we finish the regular season next week."
Jon Allen's performance was key for the team as the senior shot 67% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. Nate Ellenwood scored 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while Jayson Barnhart finished with 12 points and Devin Dean 10 points in the loss.
Next up, the Bruins will enter the final week of the regular season as the team will travel to Toccoa Falls College on Monday night. Tip-off for the game is set for 7 p.m.
