The Bruins bounced back from last Friday's loss to Carolina Christian College to defeat Toccoa Falls College in a resounding 69-42 victory Tuesday night at the Davis Field House. The Bruins improved to 8-10 on the season, 3-1 in region play, and notched their 10
th home victory against Toccoa Falls to remain undefeated at home against the Screaming Eagles.
"It's nice to be on the winning side on the scoreboard," said Head Coach Mike LeViere. "But we've really worked on not focusing on the outcome, but focusing on the process and to make sure we're doing the little things right and the things we can control like rebounds, boxing out, and turnovers. We want to have fun and enjoy the game of basketball, but we want to do it with excellence. It's nice to have that confirmed on the scoreboard."
It was a slow start to tonight's game as both teams traded baskets in the first 10 minutes. Shea Dickinson sunk a three-pointer in the final seconds to end the first quarter knotted at nine points for both teams.
Toccoa Falls pulled ahead halfway through the second quarter. But the Bruins went on an 11 point run highlighted by a three-pointer from Faith Sides followed by two threes courtesy of Annie Miller. A layup by Bethany Daulton with seven seconds remaining would give the home team a 26-25 lead going into halftime.
The Bruins made some changes in the second half that led to some big results on the scoreboard. In the third quarter, Gracen Ledford led the Bruins with 9 of the team's 19 points. At the end of third quarter, the Bruins created a nine-point lead over the Screaming Eagles.
In the final 10 minutes of play, the Bruins continued fighting and came away with 24 points, 18 rebounds while sinking 83% of their free throws and shooting 44% from the field.
"It took awhile, but the second half was much better for us, and we had a better flow to the game," said LeViere. "We changed up the type of man-to-man defense we played, and that woke us up and made the difference tonight. Good defense leads to good offense, and for us that seems to be doubly true. And tonight, the energy transformed into the offensive side of the ball."
Delaney Edwards, Annie Miller and Gracen Ledford all scored in double figures tonight. Delaney Edwards recorded her third double-double of the season coming away with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Next up, the Bruins host Covenant College at the Davis Field House for a 5 p.m. game on Saturday.
