NGU Crusaders vs. Bob Jones Bruins Basketball Re-cap
Alec Harris – Staff Writer
Picture courtesy of Pixebay
The North Greenville University Crusaders defeated the Bob Jones Bruins 72-64 on Saturday, February 2. This puts North Greenville at five wins this season. Far from being a shutout, the Bruins almost gave the Crusaders a run for their money. This was the second game in seventeen hours for the Bruins who had just come from a win against Trinity Baptist College.
The game started out with a five point lead to the Crusaders within the first two minutes. The Bob Jones Bruins responded quickly with four points before the Crusaders scored again leaving the score 7-5 Crusaders. The entire first half was a close battle with neither team pulling more than five points away from the other.
Caleb Arrington made two three-point shots for the Crusaders fairly early in the first half which helped maintain a lead against the the Bruins later. Kovi Tate was the deciding factor for the Crusaders scoring 16 points in the second half and 23 points total throughout the game.
The first half ended at 34-29 Crusaders. The Bruins took the lead once more in the second half before slowly falling behind. Most of the second half the score stayed close until the eleven minute mark when the Crusaders got up to a 10 point lead. The Bruins tried to catch up and closed the gap to three points before the Crusaders slipped away again leaving the score 72-64.
The Bruins were more consistent in their scoring attempts than the Crusaders. The Crusaders had a final three-point accuracy of 21.4 percent which was lower than the Bruins but was still successful. In free throws the Crusader’s hit 19 out of 29 shots. In two-point shots the Crusaders beat out the Bruins in terms of accuracy with a shot percentage of 45.5 percent, winning out against the 35.7 percent of the Bruins.
What made the difference was that the aggressive play style of the Crusaders managed to provide more shot opportunities against the Bruins which made up for the lower accuracy. The Bruins also gave the Crusaders a small handful of points from fouls which helped turn the tides in the Crusader’s favor. Even with the opportunities that they had, the Crusaders struggled to capitalize and widen the gap. In the end, the game truly was an example of one team outlasting the other.
Next game for the Crusaders will be Erskine college who currently has a two game losing streak but sit with 11 wins and 8 losses for the season so far. If the Crusaders want to be able to pull out a win they need to be able to capitalize better on the opportunities they get. Time will tell if they can pull it off or not.
