The Bob Jones University Bruins women’s and men’s basketball teams both completed their postseason runs and wrapped up their seasons Friday, March 13.
Lady Bruins
The Lady Bruins took on the Southern Wesleyan University Warriors Friday night in the regional championship game, coming off an overtime win the night before against Columbia International University. In the regular season, the Bruins and Warriors each took a win from each other, leaving the record of their series 1-1.
In the first half, BJU jumped to an early 8-4 lead by two 3-point shots by Maggi Ford and Hannah Tompkins. Tompkins contributed 13 points in the first half to fend off the attacking Warriors. Junior forward Brianna Delaney made a layup for two to give the Bruins a 24-17 lead, their largest lead during the game.
The Warriors continued to strike back, however, and used their sharp-shooting abilities beyond the arc to take the lead 26-24. After an 8-0 run by the Warriors, the teams retired to their locker rooms with the scoreboard reading 36-27.
Coming out strong for the second half, SWU began the half with a 5-0 run to expand its lead on BJU. The Bruins continued to push and gained some momentum off two 3-pointers by junior guard Abby Conover, bringing the score to 46-39. With two minutes remaining, the Bruins brought the game within five points. They could not finish, though, and only scored one more point to end the game with a 70-60 loss against the Warriors.
Tompkins finished the game with 15 points while Ford and senior forward Kourtney Hoefler contributed 10 each. BJU won the rebounding battle 37-31. The Lady Bruins finished their season with a record of 18-14.
Bruins Men
The Bruins took a 92-71 loss against the No. 1 seeded Emmanuel College Lions in the South regional semifinal playoff game Friday night.
The Bruins recorded their first postseason win in BJU’S history the previous night against Columbia International University.
Emmanuel College defeated the Bruins by a large margin both times the teams met during the regular season. The Lions came out strong in the first half, scoring the game’s first five points. The Bruins were able to even out the score at 5-5, but the Lions struck back with a 9-2 run. The Bruins continued fighting and, after a layup by junior guard Ray Holden, the score read 17-15 with the Bruins only trailing by 2. The Lions went on another run soon after to make the scoreboard read 41-35.
The Bruins were determined to gain the lead of the game from the start of the second half. The Lions, however, had an answer for every shot the Bruins made. After a 10-0 run by the Lions to bring their lead into double-digits, the Bruins were unable to catch up. The Bruins ended their postseason run with a 92-71 loss.
Leading the Bruins in scoring, junior forward Kyle Turner recorded 20 points and 8 rebounds. Freshman guard Marshall Riddle contributed 14, Holden added 13 and sophomore forward Corey Turner posted 10. The Bruins finished their season with a record of 10-20.
