The Bruins basketball team ran into some road struggles on Friday night as the team fell behind early and never recovered in a 90-61 loss to Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 1-4 after shooting just 37% from the floor as a team and committing 26 turnovers in the game.
"I thought we played pretty well, especially against a D1 opponent," Bruins Head Basketball Coach Burton Uwarow said. "We had some players give us a spark off the bench and I was pleased with our rebounding in the game."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of picking up their first win of the season with a 90-82 victory over Brevard College on Tuesday night. The team knew they would be in for a tough test as they took on the Blue Hose, their fourth NCAA DI program this season. Presbyterian came into Friday's game at 5-3 on the season having won three of their last four games.
From the opening tip, the Blue Hose pushed the tempo and forced the Bruins into early turnovers which allowed PC to build an 11-4 lead. The Bruins tried to slow Presbyterian, but the team struggled to get into a consistent offensive flow which allowed the Blue Hose to stretch their lead.
The Bruins refused to back down and battled their way back into the game as Daniel Fuller knocked down a three and Kenney Garrick scored on the fast break as the Bruins trailed 16-12 near the midway point of the half. The Blue Hose responded with a 25-5 run as they blew the game open going into the half with a 47-24 lead.
Coming out of the half, the Bruins hoped to chip away at the deficit. Again, the Blue Hose came out strong pushing the tempo and finding high percentage shots. The Bruins got a boost from freshman Lincoln Riddle as he knocked down a three early in the half as part of 10 points off the bench while shooting 3-5 from three-point range.
Unfortunately, the flashes of brilliance offensively for the Bruins were answered by multiple baskets from the Blue Hose as Presbyterian continued to maintain a large lead. As the second half came to a close, the Bruins were able to chip into the lead but in the end the deficit was too much to overcome as the team fell 90-61.
"Having them only outscore us by six in the second half was a positive for us," Coach Uwarow said. "We're looking forward to learning from this and returning home to play again tomorrow."
Devin Dean and Lincoln Riddle were the only players to score in double figures for the Bruins as each finished with 10 points on the night. The Bruins struggled offensively in the game shooting just 27% from three-point range while turnovers turned into 35 points for Presbyterian.
Next up, the Bruins return home on Saturday night as they welcome Warren Wilson College to the Davis Field House at 7 p.m.
