It was an exciting afternoon as the #6 Bob Jones Bruins came out victorious over #7 Ozark Christian College in today's consolation bracket game at the NCCAA DII National Tournament in Joplin, Missouri.
"Like we said yesterday, there were a couple of ways to look at the games today and tomorrow, and one of the things we said was that we have the ability to use this to look forward to next season," said Head Coach Burton Uwarow. "We're getting everyone back except our only senior Daniel Fuller. I wanted them to have the mindset that everyone is returning, so let's go ahead and get a head start to next year. We want to finish the season strong."
The Bruins came into today's game after falling in the quarterfinal game of the national tournament Thursday night against #3 seeded Manhattan Christian College. On the other side of the court, host school Ozark Christian College entered the consolation game after falling 91-67 to #2 Campbellsville University Harrodsburg the night before. This was the first meeting between the two schools.
Elijah Cupples would sink a three-pointer to kick off the scoring. The Bruins would pull ahead to a 7-0 lead before Ozark Christian College would get on the board. As the Ambassadors tried to close the gap, the Bruins would start to run away going on a 16 point run kick started by a jumper from Henry Blair. Heading into the break, the Bruins led 44-31. Cupples would come away with 17 points in the first half while Stephan Hugely led the team with 5 rebounds.
Josiah Beckenhauer of the OCC Ambassadors would begin the second half with back to back baskets before a jumper from Henry Blair would start an exchange of baskets from the two schools. The Bruins would then go on another double digit scoring spree highlighted by three three-pointers from Daniel Fuller. The Bruins would continue to play strong and with just under two minutes remaining, Quincey Sibley would hit a three-pointer to give the Bruins a 30 point advantage, their largest of the game. As the buzzer sounded, the Bruins would come away with a big 99-71 victory over Ozark Christian College.
Elijah Cupples led the Bruins with 24 points with teammate Henry Blair right on his heels with 23 points. The Bruins were 12/14 at the free throw line and shot 49.3% from the field.
"We have the chance to win our 16th game tomorrow, making that our second highest win total in Bruins history," said Coach Uwarow. "If we can do that, we'll finish tomorrow in the top 5 in the country, and that's the goal we set out for the team after today's game."
The Bruins will wrap up the season at noon on Saturday as they play #8 Emmaus Bible College in the final game of the 2021-22 season. The Bruins were eliminated from championship contention on Thursday after a loss to #3 seeded Manhattan Christian College in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
