Box Score
The Bruins welcomed the Toccoa Falls College Eagles to the Davis Field House on Tuesday night. The team was coming off an opening-season win against Johnson University on Friday night. The Eagles were coming off an 85-67 loss to Emmanuel College on Saturday night. The two schools met twice in the 2012 season with the Bruins winning both meetings. The Eagles have improved their roster with several key transfer players and incoming freshman. The Bruin faithful were out in full voice as the game began.
From the opening tip, the Bruins came out slow against the Eagles zone defense and had several turnovers in the opening minutes as the Eagles jumped out to a 10-5 lead. The Bruins responded by going on an 18-3 run behind great shooting and second-chance opportunities to take the lead at 23-13. The team was working their offensive sets and the team did a great job of driving through the lane to get to the line or find open players for shots.
The Eagles were tenacious as they fought hard to get back into the game. As the half came to a close, the Eagles had mounted a late run to cut the lead to 39-31 at the half.
"I credit Toccoa Falls tonight for playing great defense," Coach Ring said. "Their zone really made it tough for us to score. Offensively we just needed to work harder. We were not making smart decisions with the ball which hurt us."
In the second half, the Bruins came out strong in the opening minutes behind several three-point daggers by Zach Mercado to increase the lead to double digits. Larry Taylor helped to increase the Bruins lead by consistently getting to the line in the second half. Taylor had 13 free-throw attempts while making 11. The defense stood strong for the Bruins as Jason McVey and Cameron Kirkman provided great pressure on the guards, while Alec Hansen provided great rebounding on the offensive and defensive ends.
"I feel like this is something I can bring to the team," Hansen said. "I try to go out there and work hard and make things happen on the floor."
The Bruins driving through the lane forced two players to foul out for Toccoa Falls late in the second half. The team responded by spreading the floor and looking for open opportunities to score. The team shot 77% from the free throw line as they made several clutch free throws down the stretch to keep the lead. As the buzzer sounded, the Bruins had won their second straight game with a score of 88-73.
"A win is a win and that is how we are looking at this tonight," Coach Ring said. "We have a lot more of the season to go and we have some very tough matchups coming up for our team so we have to get better. I am confident our guys are going to continue to work hard to improve."
With the win, the Bruins improve to 2-0 on the season. Larry Taylor led the way for the Bruins with 22 points and 10 assists while Zach Mercado also scored 22 points in shooting 50% from beyond the arc. Alec Hansen chipped in 10 points while grabbing 4 offensive rebounds. The Bruins will relish in the win but will get right back to work this week as they prepare for a series of tough road games against St. Thomas University and Emmanuel College.
