The Bruins basketball team came up short on Saturday evening as Toccoa Falls edged BJU 61-58 in the Davis Field House. It was the first time Toccoa Falls had defeated the Bruins in the DFH as the Bruins had been 9-0 in previous home matchups against Toccoa. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 5-6 on the season and 2-2 in region play.
"We did some things well tonight but the turnovers and missed free throws really hurt us," Bruins interim head coach Tony Miller said. "I told the guys that this is an opportunity for us to take another step and learn from this. We need to get better."
The Bruins came into Saturday's game on the heels of back to back wins including defeating Piedmont University on Monday night. The Bruins looked to keep up their winning ways on Saturday as they welcomed Toccoa Falls who came into the game at 4-7 on the season and 2-1 in South region play.
From the opening tip, the Bruins jumped out to an early lead as Henry Blair hit a three and scored on a layup to help the team pull ahead 9-2. The Bruins came out with good rhythm and ball movement, but the Screaming Eagles battled back with a 10-0 run to regain the lead.
The two teams then went back and forth with each trying to establish momentum and build a lead. Near the midway point of the first half, Tyriq Perry scored back to back baskets for Toccoa as they led 20-17. The Bruins were able to battle back and take the lead but the Screaming Eagles kept pace as they led 28-22 with just over a minute to play in the half.
Henry Blair gave the Bruins a spark going into the locker room as he hit a three with just seconds remaining. Still, the Bruins trailed 28-25 as both teams went into halftime.
As the second half began, the Bruins came out looking to regain the lead. Toccoa continued to maintain the upper hand as they answered the Bruins basket for basket. Kenney Garrick and Hayes Brush then hit back to back threes for the Bruins as the team stormed back to lead Toccoa 37-36.
Again, the Screaming Eagles came right back eventually building a 57-52 lead with just over five minutes to play. Henry Blair would hit another three to cut the lead back to 57-56 with just under two minutes to go but Josh Parker answered back with a basket for Toccoa to make it 59-56.
Brian Sims then was fouled with just over a minute to play and made both of his free throws to trail Toccoa 59-58. The Bruins needed one more defensive stop as they hoped to close out the game and get the win. Instead, the Screaming Eagles got a key basket from Khobe Comer to make it 61-58.
From there, the Bruins came back looking for the tie but a last-second three-point attempt from Henry Blair missed as Toccoa held on for the win.
"We worked hard all week in practice, but it is different when you get into a real game and we needed to make better decisions with the ball," Coach Miller said.
Henry Blair led the Bruins with 17 points and 6 rebounds while Stephan Hugley finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds in the loss. The Bruins shot just 50% as a team from the free throw line while also committing 15 turnovers in the game.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road on Tuesday night as the team faces Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina.
