The Bob Jones University Bruins fell to the Johnson and Wales University Wildcats on Tuesday night at the Davis Field House. The Bruins’ 71-68 loss dropped their record to 6-5 on the season.

The Bruins started strong in the first half as Tre’ Tipton won the tip off. The Bruins’ defense was fantastic in the early minutes of the game, but the Wildcats’ Ricky Porter countered by hitting six out of seven field goal attempts while going 2-2 on free throws.

For the Bruins, Kyle Turner went 6-7 from the charity stripe in the first half. Tipton had five ferocious blocks in the first half to keep the Bruins in the game.

With just a few minutes left in the half, Porter threw down a huge dunk to give the Wildcats the lead.

At the half, the Wildcats led 34-32. Turner led the Bruins with 12 total points, while Tipton recorded six rebounds.

The second half was a fight for the Bruins as they looked to overtake the Wildcats. BJU came out moving the ball well as Marshall Riddle slid the ball to Turner for an easy layup. With 10 minutes to go, Justin Matthews threw down a monster dunk that gave the Bruins momentum to get back into the game.

The Bruins’ frantic efforts to get back into the game fell just short. With .9 of a second left, Dustin Killough nailed a last-gasp three-pointer for the Bruins, closing the gap to three, but the Wildcats held on to win 71-68.

“They just did a better job of getting to their spots,” head coach Neal Ring said. “I thought we did a good job, and we shot 35 free throws. We were getting to the rim. It wasn’t like we were standing on the outside shooting.”

Ricky Porter had a huge game for the Wildcats, putting up 35 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

For the Bruins, Kyle Turner had an impressive 19 total points, and Tre Tipton pulled down 11 rebounds. As a whole, the Bruins shot 38.5 percent on field goals, and 68.6 percent in free throws.

The Bruins will next face Piedmont International University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Friday, Dec. 11.