CLEVELAND, Ga. (Jan. 16, 2019) – The Truett McConnell University men's basketball team battled No. 9 Union College to the very end but ultimately fell in an Appalachian Athletic Conference showdown (75-68). The Bears tumbled to 10-9, 5-8 AAC while the No. 9 Bulldogs won their third straight improving to 15-4, 10-2 AAC on the year.
COACH'S COMMENTS
"Another disappointment where we were about three possessions short of where we needed to be," Head Coach Jon Yeh said. "I don't think we played the first two minutes of the game with a lot of spirit, and we gave up two early 3's. And then we certainly didn't execute defensively in the last two minutes of the first half when we allowed Cummins to get off his three 3's.
When we play Union, I always tell our men it's about opportunities to score. If we have the same number of scoring chances as they do, I like our odds. But between offensive rebounds and turnovers, we were minus three. And imagine that, we lost by three possessions.
We're playing hard. I like our effort, attitude and optimism. We just need to turn the screws down every possession and be faithful in our execution."
THE FIGHT
A Christian Davis 3-pointer tied it up with 9:35 to go in the first half and it marked the start of a back and forth battle. Both teams exchanged the lead the rest of the way. Despite leading by four with 1:45 before the half, three 3-pointers by the Bulldogs put them ahead by five (34-39).
Union maintained the momentum leading TMU the rest of the way. The Bulldogs pushed to lead by as much as 15 and the Bears came as close as five points but it proved not enough.
LEADERS
Senior Filipe Goncalves led the way with a season high of 23 points while Davis followed with 16 points. Freshman Enocka Franky also had a season high of 10 points and nine rebounds. Senior Jacob Booke added eight points and junior Kai Lambert rebounded seven.
UP NEXT
The Bear will host Regent University on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, at 7:30 p.m., before getting back on the road for more AAC action on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at Montreat College.
