Pensacola, FL — Despite trailing by just 4 points with under 3 minutes remaining, the hot-shooting Bruins proved to be too much for the Eagles. The Eagles would go on to fall at home 87-78 in yesterday's matchup. 

"The Bruins started to get dribble-drive on us late in the ball game," Eagles Head Coach Mark Goetsch said. "When they started to dribble-drive, our guys collapsed a bit too much on defense, and their shooters burned us late in the game."

The sharp-shooting effort of Bruins guard Dustin Killough, who scored 20 of his game-high 28 points in the opening quarter, helped the Bruins jump out to an early advantage in the contest. Despite trailing 12-2 early in the contest, the Eagles battled back behind the three-point shooting of guard John Clay and the steady interior presence of Eagles star Dakota Pratt.

A clutch-shot from distance late in the 1^st half by Ian Johnson tied the score at 43, but the Bruins quickly answered when Dustin Killough buried a long two-pointer with 19 seconds remaining in the 1^st half. Heading into the half, the Eagles trailed Bob Jones University 45-43.

At the half, Head Coach Mark Goetsch said, "I felt like we executed our game plan in the 1^st half. We played well defensively and found several opportunities offensively in the paint."

The Bruins quickly extended their lead to 10 points in the opening minutes of the 2^nd half behind the hot-shooting of guards – Justin Matthews, Nate Ellenwood, and Dustin Killough. Back-to-back buckets by Dakota Pratt and Andrew Thomas helped the Eagles narrow the gap to just 6 points, but the Bruins would again stretch their lead into double-digits.

With 2 minutes remaining, a long-distance field goal by Deont'e Hallums cut the Bruins lead to just 4 points. With the crowd on their feet, Bruins seniors guard Justin Matthews drained a long three-pointer to silence the crowd and regain the momentum for the Bruins. The Eagles would go on to lose the ball game by a score of 87-78.

"Their defense got really strong down the stretch, and we started to hurry some shots." Head Coach Mark Goetsch continued, "These guys stayed really focused today, but we just weren't able to come away with the victory."

Dakota Pratt led the Eagles with 24 points in the contest while Ian Johnson (18), John Clay (11), and Marlon Gardner (10) all finished in double-digits. Sitting at 3-5 in conference play, the team will return to action on Tuesday night against Trinity Baptist College as they look to continue to their climb back to a .500 conference record.