CLEVELAND, Ga. (Feb. 2, 2021) – It came down to the wire for the Truett McConnell University men's basketball team as they came out on top in an Appalachian Athletic Conference showdown against Bluefield College with a final score of 88-85 inside the Benjamin F. Brady Arena on Tuesday evening. The Bears won their second straight to improve to 7-13, 4-10 AAC on the season, while the Rams fell to 6-10, 6-8 AAC.
 
EARLY LEAD, LATE RALLY
Immediately the Bears started off hot dominating the first 20 minutes of the game to outscore the Rams by 16 points (49-33) in the first half. TMU's EJ Smith drained a 3-pointer with 2:24 to go before halftime to give the Bears their largest lead of the game of 21 (47-26), but the Rams closed out the final two minutes of the half on a 7-2 run to minimize the deficit and that was only the beginning of Bluefield's late rally.
 
The first three minutes of the second half saw TMU get out front by as much as 20 (55-35), but the Rams fought to eventually get back within no more than single digits the final two minutes of regulation. After a Ty Briscoe free throw with 1:09 on the scoreboard, Bluefield held the Bears scoreless until the final three seconds of the game while the Rams inched in from behind to trail by a single point (86-85). Nonetheless, Brent Kelly capitalized on the free throw line to put TMU back ahead by three (88-85), and Bluefield was unable to answer before the buzzer.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
The Bears outscored the Rams in the paint (48-36), while both teams were almost even shooting from the field; Bluefield shot 49.2% and TMU shot 48.5%. Bluefield also recorded a total of seven 3-pointers, while the Bears made six.
 
TMU was led by Briscoe, who scored 26 points and had three steals. Kelly and Enocka Franky followed with 13 points apiece, while Marlon Allen led with 10 rebounds. Freshamn RJ Bryant had a perfect night of 11 points shooting 3-for-3 from the field, including 2-for-2 from the 3-point line and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Kelly added eight rebounds and led with nine assists. Allen had five assists and freshman Smith was credited three assists.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will look to travel to St. Andrews University on Thursday, Feb. 4, before turning around to host the Knights inside the Benjamin F. Brady Arena on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 4:00 p.m.