A three pointer in the final seconds by Kenney Garrick pushed the Bob Jones University men's basketball team ahead of New College of Florida to secure the 81-78 victory at the Davis Field House Saturday afternoon.
The Bruins hosted New College of Florida in the first ever meeting between the two programs. From the beginning of today's exhibition contest, the two teams went back and forth exchanging buckets. In the middle of the first half, the Bruins began to pull away as they went on a 15-2 run to give them the 25-13 advantage. A jumper by Elijah Cupples closed out the first half as the Bruins and Mighty Banyans went back to their locker rooms with the Bruins leading 43-36.
New College of Florida opened the second half with three consecutive layups to cut their deficit to one. The Bruins responded with baskets by Elijah Cupples and Caleb Owens to extend a slight five point advantage. But the lead didn't long and for the final 15 minutes of the contest, the score flip flopped between the Bruins and the Mighty Banyans.
With 2:25 left on the clock and BJU leading 76-74, Hayes Brush went to the line. He made both of his shots to make it a four point game. It came down to the wire as the Mighty Banyans hit two shots in the paint to even the score at 78 with 32 seconds left.
At the sideline with six seconds left on the game clock, Cupples passed the ball to Brush who handed the ball back to Cupples and then over to Garrick. In similar fashion to Friday's game game-winner over Pensacola Christian College, Garrick received the ball and knocked down the game-winning three point shot with only two seconds to spare. The Mighty Banyans battled until the final buzzer, but it was the Bruins who finished on top 81-78.
"I've coached for a really long time, and I've never had this many buzzer beaters in one year, let alone back-to-back, let alone from the same player. For us to win three buzzer beaters in seven days is absolutely unheard of. It has nothing to do with me and has to do with our senior leadership," said Head Coach Burton Uwarow.
When speaking of his team and leadership, Coach Uwarow said, "we're reaping the benefits of some things we went through last season. When people are forced to grow in their character and grow in their maturity, that's always good for us. Like we see throughout the Bible and life, it's usually not pleasant while we're going through it. But when we look back, we're able to see the reaping from the seeds that were planted a year ago."
Four Bruins finished today's exhibition in double figures. Shad Vander Hart nearly had a double double as he led BJU with 17 points and 9 rebounds.
Up next, the Bruins are back with two NCCAA South Region home games next week.
