In a win or go home situation, the Bruins came away with the 62-61 victory over Toccoa Falls College to advance to the NCCAA South Region Championship game. This is the fourth consecutive year the Bruins have advanced to the South region final. Delaney Edwards led the team with 17 points while Shea Dickinson came away with 13 rebounds against the Screaming Eagles.
"Survive and advance is the mantra of tournament basketball, and we did that today," said Head Coach Mike LeViere. "We had several opportunities to put the game away and we just couldn't do it. Toccoa made some big shots and just wouldn't go away. A credit to them for their hustle and tenacity. Thankfully we made some plays when we had to and overall shot the ball well enough from behind the arc to pull out the victory. I thought our defense was great although we failed to reward ourselves several times by finishing the play and getting the rebound. Big plays and shots from Delaney, Tamrah, Gracen, and Shea and an awesome production off the bench with Ainsley, Annie, Jessiann."
Bob Jones and Toccoa Falls met twice earlier this season splitting the series 1-1.
Tamrah Konieczka got the Bruins on the board right from the start as she sank a three-pointer to start tonight's semifinal game. After some back and forth action, the Screaming Eagles tied the game at 9 halfway through the first quarter. Konieczka would break the deadlock with a three-point shot to bring the Bruins back in the lead. At the end of the first 10 minutes, the Bruins would lead 17-12.
The Screaming Eagles got off to a quick start in the second quarter to tie things up at 17 points, but the Bruins went on a 17-2 point run to regain the lead. Toccoa Falls would score 8 points at the end of the second period to go into halftime 34-28 in favor of the Bruins.
Bob Jones would hold on to their lead at the end of the third quarter. During the third quarter quarter, the Bruins out-rebounded the Screaming Eagles 14-10. After 30 minute of play, the Bruins would lead 48-41.
The final quarter of play would be crucial. Toccoa would begin chipping away at the Bruins lead. With 5 minutes remaining, it would be a three-point game. But three-pointers from Tamrah Konieczka and Shea Dickinson would bring the Bruins up by nine. As the clocked ticked down, it would become a two point game with just 43 seconds remaining. Toccoa had the opportunity to tie it at the very end, but one missed free throw helped the Bruins stay ahold of the lead. At the buzzer, the Bruins would come away with the win with a score of 62-61.
At the end of the game, Delaney Edwards led with 17 points and 6 rebounds with Tamrah Konieczka right behind her with 15 points. All of Tamrah's points came from three-pointers throughout the game. Shea Dickinson was strong on rebounds with 13 on the game.
The Bruins head into the championship game tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. against the winner of tonight's #1 Pensacola Christian College vs. #4 Trinity Baptist College game.
