After back to back losses last week, the Bruins got back to their winning ways on Monday night as the team turned in a strong performance to capture a road region win over Toccoa Falls College 77-64. Nate Ellenwood led the Bruins with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals as the team improves to 12-12 on the year while remaining a perfect 6-0 in region play.
"It's always tough to play here," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "We were fortunate to come away with a win. I was proud of how we played tonight and we had several guys step up tonight for us."
The Bruins and Screaming Eagles met a few weeks ago in Greenville with the Bruins winning handily on their home court 91-65. Since then, the Screaming Eagles have had several players return to the lineup and the team had begun to grab momentum with back to back wins over Crown College and Johnson University (FL).
With one week left in the regular season, the Bruins took the court hoping to capture another region victory. They knew they would be in for a tough test as the team would be without freshman Devin Dean for the game.
The Bruins struck first as freshman Kendall Norrington made back to back shots in the paint to give the Bruins the lead but the Screaming Eagles came right back with a 7-0 run to lead 7-4 in the early stages. The Bruins would respond with a run of their own as the team attacked the basket earning high-percentage shots and trips to the foul line.
As the half wore on, the teams continued to go back and forth with neither taking a sizable lead. With under three minutes to play in the first half, a pair of free throws by Quinton Brown put the Screaming Eagles up 26-23 as the home team looked to take momentum into the break.
Instead, the Bruins closed the half strong as Cam McKennedy made a layup and Kendall Norrington followed with an and-one opportunity. Daniel Fuller put an exclamation point on the half as he knocked down a three with just seconds to go to give the Bruins a 31-26 lead at halftime.
The Screaming Eagles came out strong to begin the second half as the team went on an 10-2 to retake the lead. Still, the Bruins continued to battle as they didn't allow the game to get away. Hayes Brush provided a spark for the team near the midway point of the half as the freshman scored seven-straight points for the team to give BJU a 55-48 lead.
With just under three minutes to go, another big three by Daniel Fuller increased the lead to 66-60. The Eagles tried to mount one last rally but key plays by Nate Ellenwood and the scoring touch of Hayes Brush proved to be too much to overcome as the Bruins went on to win 77-64.
"Nate put in a total performance for us tonight," Coach Uwarow said. "His senior leadership really helped us at key times in the game."
While senior leadership proved crucial down the stretch, freshmen Hayes Brush and Kendall Norrington also were instrumental in the victory. Brush finished with 14 points and 4 rebounds while Norrington had 11 points to go along with 6 boards.
The Bruins limited their turnovers to one of the lowest tallies they have had all season while also holding the Screaming Eagles to shooting just 18% from three-point range. Next up, the Bruins will wrap up the regular season on Saturday afternoon as they welcome another region opponent in Trinity Baptist College. It's senior day for the Bruins with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Davis Field House.
