The Bruins men faced off against Piedmont International University on Friday night, as they looked to rise above .500 for the first time since the beginning of the season. BJU had dominated Piedmont 81-61 at home earlier this year, and they anticipated a similar result on the road. Larry Taylor led the Bruins past Piedmont with 32 points.

A powerful dunk by Xavier Dulin of Piedmont got the home crowd roaring and landed Piedmont a 13-11 lead in the first half, but this only ignited the Bruins, who surged ahead 37-25 before the half was over.

Piedmont initiated the second half with two clutch 3-pointers, but the Bruins stifled Piedmont’s momentum once again. BJU locked down on defense, clicked on offense and rose above .500 with a 75-59 win.

The Bruins women, on the other hand, were in Tennessee to compete against the Johnson University Royals. Although BJU beat the Royals by 12 in the first game of the season, they fell 73-68 on Friday, Feb. 21, in an intense matchup.

Johnson proved to be a competitive opponent for the Bruins this time around, and the Royals and Bruins fought back and forth for the lead. The Bruins’ hustle and skillful defense slowed the Royals down, but the buckets wouldn’t fall for the Bruins, who found themselves in a 34-40 hole at halftime.

Turnovers plagued the Bruins in the second half, and Johnson’s players shot well. The Bruins pulled the score to a single-digit margin with just a few minutes remaining, but that wasn’t enough to salvage a win so late in the game.

“The turnovers killed us,” senior Kim Spiecker said. “We played really well, hustled and played good defense, but in the last few minutes they got some turnovers that they shouldn’t have had.”