The Bob Jones University men's basketball team wrap up a historic season 21-5 overall after a 84-50 victory over #8 Kansas Christian College from the NCCAA DII National Tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
For their third and final game of the NCCAA National Tournament, the Bruins saw themselves matched up against the eight seed, Kansas Christian College. The Bruins came into the game following a hard fought win against #6 Grace Christian College on Friday. Saturday's game marked the first meeting between the Bruins Falcons.
Layups by Elijah Cupples and Camden Gearhart opened the bank for the Bruins tonight from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Falcons began pressing and after back to back steals, Kansas Christian College took the lead.
BJU worked to cut down at the deficit. Elijah Cupples took to the free throw line where he sank all three shots to get the Bruins within one with 10 minutes left in the first half. Thirty seconds later, Kenney Garrick stole the ball and hustled down the court where his layup put BJU on top 17-16.
The Bruins didn't look back and took a double digit advantage with 4:14 left on the clock. The first half ended on a high note as Hayes Brush went coast to coast and dunked the ball right at the buzzer to his team on top 37-25 at the halftime break.
The Bruins came out of the locker room looking to close the game out strong as they scored 10 points in the opening minutes.
They didn't slow down and went on an 11 point scoring spree, highlighted by seven points from Trevor Brunson to improve to 71-43 with just under four minutes remaining in the contest. The Bruins outscored the Falcons 47-25 in the second half and as the final buzzer sounded, the Bruins came out victorious 84-50 over Kansas Christian College.
Every player was able to see playing time on the court, with nearly everyone contributing to the score count as well. Elijah Cupples led the Bruins with 17 points, followed by Hayes Brush who finished with 13 and Shad Vander Hart with 10 points.
Seniors Kenney Garrick, Hayes Brush, and Elijah Cupples donned the blue and white for the final time on Saturday.
Bob Jones University wrapped up their standout season fifth in the nation with 21 wins and only five losses on the year to see their best winning percentage in program history.
When asked what was going right for the team today, Coach Uwarow said, "really everything. I asked the seniors and the guys who start to put us in a good enough position as I would really like everyone who comes to a national tournament to get in the game for a little bit. It's nice when everyone gets to be a part of this. We're very fortunate, but what makes this really special is being able to have everyone play."
With several strong student-athletes returning next season, the Bruins will look to once again contend for their first national championship in program history.
