Bruins basketball forward Jayson Barnhart became the all-time leading scorer in program history on Saturday night as the senior finished with 10 points in an 84-59 win over region rival Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Florida. Barnhart passed Dustin Killough (2014-18) on the all-time scoring list with 1,618 career points as the Bruins improve to 11-10 on the season and remain a perfect 5-0 in region play.
"We're very proud of Jayson," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said following the win. "I also loved coaching Dustin, who set the bar high for players to follow. Jayson was teammates with Dustin and I know how much love and respect they have for one another. I know Dustin is happy with a guy like Jayson being the one to break his record. Jayson has been a leader and has had a tremendous impact on our program throughout his career."
The Bruins came into the game on Saturday looking to get back into the winning column as the team had lost back to back games. The Eagles came into the game at 7-19, having dropped three of their last four games. Earlier this season, the Eagles and Bruins met up in Greenville with the Bruins winning handily 111-77. The hometown fans were out in full voice at the Arlin R. Horton Sports Center Arena as the next chapter of this rivalry was set to begin.
Nate Ellenwood opened the scoring for the Bruins as he hit a three to begin the game. The Eagles came right back as they matched the Bruins point for point with the lead changing several times throughout the opening minutes.
The Bruins came right back as they worked the ball in the paint to Jayson Barhart and Kendall Norrington as the pair scored layups to spark a short run but the Eagles answered right back to regain the lead.
With just over five minutes to play in the first half, Devin Dean scored on a layup to give the Bruins a 33-23 lead. The Bruins were able to add to that lead thanks to tough closeout defense which held the Eagles to just 1-15 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half. As a result, the Bruins closed out the half strong to lead 41-26 at the break.
As the second half began, the Bruins came out looking to put the game out of reach. Instead, the Eagles stormed out to a 10-2 run to begin the half as they cut the lead to 43-37. The Bruins then got a spark from Zac Orr as the senior came up with three steals and six straight points to keep the team on top in the second half. As a result, the Bruins used a crucial run to push their lead to 70-49.
"I was feeding off the energy of my teammates," Orr said. "We've had some great practices this week and were doing some great things defensively and it showed by the way we played tonight."
Jayson Barnhart then made history as he received the ball on the block and scored in the paint with just over five minutes remaining in the game to become the all-time leading scorer. Barnhart was mobbed by his teammates during the timeout as the team celebrated this special moment.
The Bruins continued to play good defense as they forced the Eagles into 23 turnovers in the game. As a result, the Bruins were able to pull away as they defeated their rival 84-59 on their home court.
"This has always been a tough place to play," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "No matter what our records are, you know they are always going to be tough games. Our depth helped us a lot on this game. I was really proud of us defensively in keeping them from making threes and in our rebounding."
Freshman Devin Dean had a strong game to lead the Bruins with 19 points and 8 rebounds while Nate Ellenwood had 10 points to go along with 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Cam McKennedy also had a big game with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. The Bruins also dominated the rebounding margin 52-35 in the win.
Next up, the Bruins return home on Tuesday night as they welcome North Greenville University to the Davis Field House. Tip-off for the game is set for 7 p.m.
