In the final game of the 2021-22 season, the Bob Jones University Bruins fell in a heartbreaking loss to Campbellsville University Harrodsburg in the fifth place game at the NCCAA DII National Tournament.
"I'm really proud of how they played and competed today," said Head Coach Mike LeViere. "I talked to our team that it's not about the scoreboard, but it's how we play and there are things more important than basketball. Sometimes you have to beat the ref and play through things, and we had to do that a lot, but we still executed. We outplayed them in a lot of ways today. But it was an exciting game to be a part of."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of an 80-73 victory over Grace Christian University on Thursday. Despite being out of championship contention, the Bruins were determined to close out their season strong as they welcomed a familiar opponent for their final game of the season. The Pioneers and Bruins had met two times already this season, with the Bruins falling in both of the previous games.
There would be back and forth action right from the start with Delaney Edwards responding right away to Campbellsville's opening three-point shot. Less than a minute later, Tamrah Konieczka would sink a thee-pointer to even the game at seven points apiece. It would be a tight battle through the rest of the first quarter, but a three-point shot from Catherine Skebo in the final minute wold give the Bruins a one point advantage at the end of the first quarter.
A jumper from Bethany Daulton would get the action started for the Bruins at the start of the second quarter. Tamrah Konieczka would go on a fast break and hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to 21-17. With just over three minutes remaining, the Pioneers would take the lead and a three-pointer right before the buzzer would see the Bruins down 33-40 heading into halftime.
The Bruins would see themselves down by 12 points at the start of the third quarter, but they would begin chipping away and a layup from Delaney Edwards would get get the Bruins trailing by only one point. With four minutes remaining, Bethany Daulton would hit her layup to give the Bruins the 51-50 lead. Baskets would exchange between the two schools and with 10 seconds left, Catherine Skebo would hit her shot to give the Bruins the 61-60 lead, but a three-pointer at the buzzer would have the Bruins trailing 63-61 after 30 minutes of play.
It would be a tight battle in the final quarter, and as the game progressed Delaney Edwards would tie the game up at 69 points. As the Pioneers pulled away once again, it would be Delaney Edwards to come back and knot the game with two minutes left on the game. With six seconds left of the clock, the Bruins would be down by one point after Gracen Ledford hit both of her shots from the free throw line. A foul on the Bruins would send the Pioneers to the line where they would make both free throws and the Bruins fell in their final game of the season 79-76.
Delaney Edwards led the Bruins with 24 points and 9 rebounds.
After the game, Coach LeViere said of his team and especially the seniors that "it is always bittersweet to come to the end of the year, but what a luxury it was to be able to pull seniors off the bench to sub for each other. To have that upper class leadership is amazing. Each of these players are awesome individuals and they have grown while at Bob Jones."
For those returning "the foundation has been set for them to grow on."
