The Bruins fall in a 90-87 thriller in their home opener against the Montreat College Cavaliers.
It was back and forth from the very start of the game with the biggest lead of the night being a 5 point lead for the Cavaliers. In the first half, Shad Vanderhart led the Bruins offensively scoring the first eight points of the game. Devin Dean had a few strong finishes along with Vanderhart to lead the Bruins in scoring in the first half. Both teams had foul trouble which led to a lot of free throws in the first half. The back-and-forth play gave the Bruins a 45-42 lead heading into halftime.
The second half was nearly the same as the first, except the Cavaliers came out with a press and stuck to it all half long. The Bruins only fell victim to it a few times remaining steady and beating it. The quick and aggressive play style continued and both teams were in double bonus for nearly the last 10 minutes of the game. The Bruins failure to execute on some important free throws helped the Cavaliers come away with the close win. The game ended on a close non-call which would have put Trevor Brunson on the line for three free throws with a chance to tie it, but the foul was not called.
"We have a lot of new guys in new roles and everyone did something positive," Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "However, giving up 18 offensive rebounds and missing 15 free throws cost us dearly."
The Bruins had flashes of brilliance from their hustle, strength, and ball movement and look to continue that in their away exhibition against Western Carolina University on November 4.
