The Bruins came roaring back with a big run in the second half to regain the lead, but it wasn't enough as the team faltered down the stretch to lost 59-54 against Trinity Baptist College on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 1-7 on the season and remain winless in region play at 0-3.
"We were just slow coming out in this game," Bruins Head Coach Mike LeViere said. "We needed to wake up and we challenged our players at halftime to control what we can control and we weren't doing the little things well to get back into the game. Trinity is a pretty good team but I felt like we took ourselves out of the game early on and made it hard for us to recover."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of their first win of the season as the team defeated Carolina Christian College on Friday night. The team looked to carry that momentum into Saturday for a South Region matchup as the Bruins welcomed the Eagles who came into the game on the heels of back to back losses.
From the opening tip, the Eagles were able to take the early lead thanks to a three from Selena Perez. The Bruins struggled to find their offensive rhythm as the team committed several turnovers in the early stages which turned into extra possessions for the Eagles. At the end of the first quarter, the Bruins needed a spark as they trailed 13-6.
In the second quarter, the Bruins tried to cut into the lead but their shooting woes continued as the team shot just 22% from the field in the first half. The Eagles extended their lead thanks to back to back baskets by Triniti Snead as TBC pushed their lead to 25-8. Near the end of the half, Delaney Edwards scored in the paint and then knocked down a three to give the Bruins some life, but the team still had a big hole to overcome as they went into halftime trailing 31-15.
As the second half began, the Bruins came out looking to get back into the game. The team got a spark thanks to Gracen Ledford as the senior knocked down a pair of three to cut into the lead. The Bruins had grabbed momentum and they kept it going with baskets from Delaney Edwards and Shea Dickinson as the team stormed back to take the lead 37-34. The Eagles then hit back to back threes to close out the quarter as the Bruins trailed 40-37 heading into the fourth.
With one quarter to play, the Bruins had battled back and looked to complete the comeback and pick up their first region win of the season. The Eagles had other plans and continued to keep the lead thanks to key baskets down the stretch.
With just over five minutes remaining, Brittany Williams scored in the pain for the Bruins to tie the game 45-45. The Eagles came right back as Jaela Green hit a three from the corner before Justine Verdine scored back to back baskets for TBC to increase the lead to 57-48. The Bruins tried to mount one last comeback, but the team came up short as the final score handed the Bruins their third region loss of the season in a 59-54 defeat.
"We have to come out each game with the fire and want it more than the other team," Bruins forward Delaney Edwards said after finishing the game with 18 points and 5 rebounds. "It starts with the bench and then out on the court, and we didn't have that energy today."
Delaney Edwards led in scoring for the Bruins while Gracen Ledford finished the night with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Tamrah Konieczka also had 10 points and 5 rebounds in the loss.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road on Tuesday as the team faces Johnson University (TN) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
