The Bruins suffered another tough loss on Saturday afternoon as the team fell to Toccoa Falls College 63-59 in Toccoa, Georgia. With the loss, the Bruins remain winless on the year at 0-5 including falling to 0-2 in South Region play.
"We just don't seem to be able to get out of our own way," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "There aren't any excuses. This wasn't bad breaks or anything other than we just beat ourselves. We aren't talented enough to recover from mistakes and we made too many today."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of a loss to Carolina University earlier this week. The Bruins had seen success against Toccoa Falls in their history with the Bruins owning a 15-1 record against the Screaming Eagles.
As the game began, the two teams traded baskets and an early lead as the score remained close. The Bruins got baskets from Delaney Edwards and Tamrah Konieczka as the score eventually tied 8-8 near the midway point of the first quarter. The Screaming Eagles then grabbed momentum as they went on an 11-0 run to close out the quarter leading 19-8.
Toccoa didn't let up as McKenzie Floyd hit a three for the Screaming Eagles to open the second quarter and extend the lead. The Bruins struggled to find their rhythm offensively, but the team got a spark as Shea Dickinson hit a three and Jessiann Wiedmann knocked down a pair of threes to help the Bruins go on a run to battle back and trail 28-22. The Bruins kept up their momentum as they closed the gap to trail 36-27 as the first half came to a close.
In the second half, the Bruins came out strong as Gracen Ledford hit a three and Tamrah Konieczka hit a jumper to help the Bruins pull within striking distance 36-32. The Bruins battled all the way back and took their first lead since the opening minutes of the game as Delaney Edwards hit a three to make it 41-40. The Bruins maintained the upper hand, but the Screaming Eagles went on a late run in the final seconds of the quarter to lead 50-45 at the end of three.
With one quarter to play, it was still anyone's ball game. Jessiann Wiedmann again hit a three for the Bruins but the Screaming Eagles came right back with a basket of their own as they led 52-49. The two teams went back and forth as the game began to draw to a close.
Gracen Ledford hit a jumper with just over a minute and a half to play as the Bruins trailed 63-59. Unfortunately, those would be the last points for the Bruins as the team wasn't able to complete the comeback in a 63-59 loss.
"We were able to fight our way back into the game, but we made some questionable decisions down the stretch and our shooting went cold again," Coach LeViere said. "We simple have to learn to close out and win games. We lost the rebounding battle after we were ahead at halftime and those were little things that we have been doing really well. I would consider this game a step back. We have to step up and do the little things right every time."
Four players scored in double figures for the Bruins with Shea Dickinson leading the way with 13 points and 7 boards in the loss. Tamrah Konieczka also had 13 points while Delaney Edwards notched 11 points and 6 rebounds.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again on Tuesday night as the team faces Carolina University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
