Three Eagles each scored 16 points, and the long ball came alive in the second half, but TBC Eagles Men's Basketball came up short in Saturday's South Region contest against the Bruins of Bob Jones University. The Eagles forged several comeback efforts in the second half, but the Bruins responded each time and won the game 88-76.

Brandon Hill, Jace Spinelli, and Diego Fernandez all scored 16 points to lead the Eagles, who began to mount a comeback from a 20-point deficit with 14:44 left to play. Spinelli sank four three-point shots during that run, and his fourth got TBC to within 10 at 80-70 with 2:12 remaining. They got as close as 9 during the run, but BJU would not allow any further advancement.  

Spinelli's 16 points all came in the second half as did 14 of Fernandez's 16, which included all seven free throws going in. Hill spread his total evenly with 8 in each half. As a team, TBC was 16 for 20 (80%) at the line and totaled 6 three-pointers, five of them in the second half.

All Eagles who entered the court scored points. DJ Thompson totaled 9, Xavier Rose had 6, Ian Kanady scored 5, Zach Kiadii and Gavin Korth-Loder each contributed 3, and Jacquez Anderson added 2.

The Bruins opened a 12-point lead with 12:07 left in the first half, and the teams played even basketball from there. The Bruins, who averaged 51% shooting from the field entering the game, shot 53% on Saturday, including 57% in the second half to hold onto the lead and earn the win. Elijah Couples and Trevor Brunson each scored 20 points while Camden Gearhart tallied 17 and Kenny Garrick had 10 to help lead their team.

The Eagles will play three more at home over the next 10 days. First, NCCAA Division 2 Mideast Region Grace Christian University comes to Trinity Gymnasium for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off on Tuesday, January 9. Two South Region rivals – Toccoa Falls College and Pensacola Christian College – will follow on January 13 and 16, respectively. Both of those dates will see the men's game as the second half of a women's/men's twin bill.