The Bruins suffered a tough loss on Monday night as Carolina University came out strong in the second half to win 92-76. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 4-7 on the season. Devin Dean led the Bruins with 19 points and 6 rebounds in the loss.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game tonight," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "We can't feel sorry for ourselves and we know that games like this are preparing us for the regional tournament and hopefully nationals after that. Every game we play is giving us a chance to get better."
The Bruins came into the game having won three of their last four games. Carolina University entered the game at 6-7 overall after back to back wins over Voorhees College and Mid-Atlantic Christian University.
In the opening minutes, both teams went back and forth trading baskets and the early lead. Devin Dean led the Bruins with 13 points in the first half as the sophomore was able to drive through the paint for points.
Near the midway point of the half, Eli Cupples hit a three to give the Bruins a 16-11 advantage. Carolina came back off the inside play of Kester Ofoegbu who scored 17 first half points. As a result, Carolina battled back to take a 41-30 lead with just over two minutes to play in the half. The Bruins responded with a layup from Eli Cupples and back to back buckets from Devin Dean to trail 41-36 at the break.
In the second half, the Bruins came out looking to regain the lead. Instead, Carolina was able to find open space inside and used their size to their advantage as they stormed out with a 15-5 run to begin the second half and take a 56-41 lead.
The Bruins tried to battle back, but several costly turnovers allowed Carolina to stretch their lead to over twenty. With time winding down, the Bruins began to battle back as Quincey Sibley and Chapman Harwood hit threes from the outside to cut into the lead.
With just under three minutes to play, a pair of free throws by Eli Cupples allowed the team to cut the deficit to single digits 81-72. It looked as though the Bruins may make a game of it in the late stages but Carolina again came up with key baskets down the stretch as they went on to wni 92-76.
"We've got to cut down on our turnovers," Coach Uwarow said. "Most of the time it is not a team playing great defense on us, it is us trying to make difficult passes instead of making the simple pass. When you do that against a team like we played tonight it is going to hurt you. We have improved, but we need to keep improving in that going forward."
The Bruins had three players in double-figures on the night as Eli Cupples and Hayes Brush each finished with 13 points behind Devin Dean scoring 19. The Bruins shot 49% from the floor as a team, but allowed 25 points off turnovers to Carolina which proved to be a key stat in the loss.
Next up, the Bruins will wrap up the regular season on Saturday as the team welcomes Johnson University (TN) to the Davis Field House.
