The Pride trailed by two at the half, but Luqman Tijani’s game high 17 points led Greensboro to a 68-58 win over Bridgewater College. The win moves The Pride to 2-1 on the season and advances them to the championship tomorrow against Guilford College at 3:00 p.m. Guilford defeated Johnson & Wales, 86-71, to advance to the championship game.
Neither team was able to control the first half of the game, as the largest lead for either team was five, when Bridgewater led 21-16 at the 4:26 mark. Greensboro struggled from the floor in the first half, but compenstated by forcing 17 turnovers and going 12 for 12 from the charity stripe. The Pride trailed 28-26 at the half.
Greensboro came out of the gates quickly in the second half and two free throws from Brock Moorman tied the game at 32 less than two minutes in. The Pride would push their lead to 42-36, capped by a Devonta Davis three, before Bridgewater would make their move. The Eagles would go on a 9-2 run and take a three point lead, but Greensboro countered with an 11-1 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 62-53.
The Pride cruised the last 3:33 of the game, as the Eagles could pull no closer than seven points. Greensboro played strong defense and hit several foul shots down the stretch to ice the game, defeating Bridgewater by 10, 68-58.
Tijani led all scorers with 17, while Chakiris Moss chipped in 10. Cody Griffith led the Eagles with 15 and dished out a game high four assists. Pride freshman Tracy Jester also picked up four assists in 14 minutes of play. In addition to his 17 points, Tijani also pulled down seven rebounds, as did Eagle’s forward Ronnie Thomas.
The Pride seek revenge tomorrow night against the Guilford Quakers as they lost a heartbreaker to their cross-town rivals, 60-59, just three days ago. The Hilton Garden Inn Championship Game is The Pride’s final contest before the Thanksgiving holiday.