CLEVELAND, Ga. (Dec. 4, 2020) – The Truett McConnell University men's basketball team extended their win streak to two over Pensacola Christian College Friday evening inside the Benjamin F. Brady Arena with a final score of 83-71. The Bears improved to 4-2 on the season, while the Eagles fell to 0-7.

TMU had four Bears in double figures, including two with a double-double. Senior Spencer Smith led with a career high of 16 points. Senior Xavier Latore followed with 12 points. Sophomore Marlon Allen had 15 points with 11 rebounds and junior Enocka Franky had 15 points with 10 rebounds.

PLAY BY PLAY

Both teams battled from the start with the score almost even in points for the entire first half. It wasn't until the last three minutes when the Bears captured the lead on a Tommy Wandrum bucket (32-30), followed by a shot in the paint from freshman Jared Bomer (34-30) and two shots from the free throw line from Allen (36-30). In the closing minute, Latore added a shot in the paint of his own, resulting in a score of 38-30 at halftime.

The Bears carried the momentum into the second half able to keep at least a 10-point lead for the remainder of the game. A good 2-pointer from Smith gave TMU their largest lead of the day at 19 points (57-38). The Eagles continued to add points of their own in efforts to reduce the difference but due to the Bears resilient offense, the game was clinched with a final score of 83-71.

COACHES COMMENTS

"Overall, really pleased with our balanced scoring. We weren't expecting to get zoned but handled it well," says Head Coach Jon Yeh. "We continued to make rebounding our strength and did a good job taking away the three-pointer, one of Pensacola's strengths."

BY THE NUMBERS

TMU outshot the Eagles at the free throw line with 85.7%, while Pensacola only managed 68.4%.

Smith led the Bears with 16 points, including five rebounds, three assist and one steal. Allen followed with fifteen points, 11 rebounds and four assists, while also going seven for seven at the free throw line. Franky had 15 points of his own, along with ten rebounds, two assists and three blocks, followed by Latore who had 12 points, three assists and two blocks. Freshmen Ty Briscoe had eight points with three assists and RJ Bryant had five points with one assist. Wandrum and freshman Cory Seitz individually had four points, while Bomer and freshman Bosko Norman individually had two.

UP NEXT

The Bears hit the road Tuesday, Dec. 8, to compete against Appalachian Athletic Conference competitor Point University, with a tipoff of 12:00 p.m.