The winning ways continue for the Bob Jones University men's basketball team as they picked up a 80-61 victory over NCCAA South Region opponent Southeastern Baptist College. With Friday night's home victory, the Bruins have improved to 10-3 on the season and remain undefeated in 2024 as well as in region play.
Going into today's game, the Bruins knew it would be a tough contest as the three wins on the year for Southeastern Baptist College each came against strong NCCAA South Region teams.
Last season, the Bruins and Chargers met twice in Mississippi. In their first game, the Chargers made a few key baskets in the final minutes to narrowly take the game 82-80. The Bruins bounced back the next day as the team battled back to beat Southeastern Baptist 79-71. Today's game marked the eighth meeting between the two schools with Bob Jones now holding the 6-2 series record.
Southeastern Baptist College took an early 6-3 lead after three pointers made by both teams. An early dunk by Hayes Brush put the home team in the lead getting the crowd excited. The Bruins held on to that lead throughout the rest of the game. As the Bruins looked to widen the gap, Shad Vander Hart worked his way around the defenders in the paint to put two more points on the board. Immediately a steal by Brandon Wilkins saw the Bruins take possession again and as he went up for the basket he was fouled but made both of his free throws. With a minute remaining in the first half, Kenney Garrick went to the line and hit both of his shots from the charity stripe to give the Bruins their biggest lead of the night at 19. The two teams went off to the locker room with the Bruins leading 40-23.
Garrick added three more points to the score line to open the second half. Midway through the second 20 minutes of play, the Bruins saw a nearly 30 point advantage with another quality shot by Shad Vander Hart. The Chargers didn't back down and began a 12-2 run to cut at their deficit. But the Bruins pulled it together and in the final four minutes went 13-4. Shad Vander Hart put an exclamation point on the night with a dunk to put the Bruins on top 80-61.
Following the game, Head Coach Burton Uwarow said, "I was very happy that we played so well with Eli Cupples out. Tostadas Pouncey, Brandon Wilkins, and Trevor Brunson did a great job of handling the guard duties. Shad Vander Hart was the difference maker in the game. He came off the bench to give us 20 points, four rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Once again, we had four guys in double figures to help us seal the win."
Shad Vander Hart led the team with 20 points while Kenney Garrick and Trevor Brunson each contributed 13 points a piece. Hayes Brush nearly had a double double with 12 points and nine rebounds on the night.
Up next, the team travels to Asheville, North Carolina for a Monday night matchup against Warren Wilson College.
