Box Score
The Bruins welcomed the Southern Polytechnic State University Hornets on Friday night to the Davis Field House. The two teams met three weeks ago with the Hornets crushing the Bruins 86-56. The Bruins have struggled as of late with the team losing the last six games. The Bruins knew they were in for a tough game as the Hornets' front court was much bigger and stronger than the Bruins. 

From the opening tip, the Bruins came out on fire as Zach Mercado and Evan Brondyke knocked down three straight three point shots to open the game and give the Bruins the lead. The team suffered a serious blow in the first few minutes as Evan Brondyke suffered an ankle injury which took him out of the game. "He is a big playmaker for us," Coach Neal Ring said. "Evan started the night by knocking down a few shots and to lose him like that really was unfortunate for us." Despite losing a key player, the Bruins battled the Hornets and extended their lead to 19-14. From there, the Hornets went on a 12-2 run to overtake the lead from the Bruins. Chase Robinson and the Hornets offense did an excellent job of driving the lane, and then kicking it back out for wide open three point shots. As the half ended, the Bruins were down 38-30. 

"We had a lot of different player combinations on the floor that we weren't used to having," Coach Ring said. "Our guys battled in that first half and we had some bench players keep us in the game."

In the second half, the Hornets came out and continued their impressive shooting by knocking down shot after shot. Despite their efforts, the Bruins were not able to cut into the deficit as the Hornets just couldn't miss. Each time the Bruins would make a run, the Hornets would respond with a number of quick three's to extend their lead. At one point the Hornets lead was 18 points before Marcus Porch slammed home a vicious dunk to solidify the Hornets win. The final buzzer sounded giving the Bruins their seventh straight loss 81-63. 

"We had more offensive rebounds, more assists and less turnovers than they did," Coach Ring said. "Their executing was tremendous but our guys really went toe to toe with them. They really battled them hard and I am proud of the effort."

Zach Mercado led all scorers for the Bruins with 16 points in hitting four three pointers. The Hornets had five players score in double figures with CJ McElrath leading the way with 18 points for the Hornets. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 1-13 on the year. Next up, the Bruins will play their last game before the break as they welcome in Trinity Baptist College on Friday night.