NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Dec. 14, 2018) – The Truett McConnell University men's basketball team battled the Stratford University Cardinals in a back-and-forth affair on Friday evening on the road, 77-72. The Bears fell to 6-6, 2-5 AAC on the year while Stratford won their eighth game of the year (8-1).

THE BATTLE

The Bears led the Cardinals nine minutes of the first 10 minutes of the game by as many as six points. In fact, TMU did not fall behind until the closing minutes of the first half and tied it up at 32 apiece with 53 seconds remaining but the Bears entered into halftime with a two-point deficit (32-34).

There were 18 lead changes and 11 ties in the 40 minutes of regulation. The second half saw a sharper shooting team for the Bears. TMU shot 55.2% from the field and 50% from the 3-point arc. Similar to the first 20 minutes, both teams went to head to head. The Bears' largest lead in the second half was by six but Stratford took the lead for good with 4:33 to go and remained on top until the buzzer.

COACH'S COMMENTS

"We got off to a slow start energy-wise in the first half," Head Coach Jon Yeh said. "We couldn't put any distance between us and them. It burned us down the stretch. We ran things well the first part of the second half and we earned the lead. But then our lack of execution on both ends of the floor killed us late."

LEADERS

Sophomore Calvin White led all scorers with 20 points and added seven rebounds. Senior Christian Davis followed with 16 points, 12 of which came from behind the 3-point arc, and sophomore Myles Monroe put up 10. Monroe was also credited seven assists and earned five rebounds. Kai Lambert was credited four assists.

UP NEXT

The Bears will be back on the road for another nonconference match up against the University of South Carolina - Upstate, an NCAA DI schoo, on Wednesday, Dec. 19.