Box Score The Bruins began the first of their two-game road trip as they took the court Saturday night against rival Pensacola Christian College. The Bruins and Eagles met last weekend in Greenville with Pensacola narrowly escaping with a 71-69 win. The Bruins still had the bitter taste of defeat in their mouths and were looking to play the spoiler as they prepared to battle the Eagles in the jam-packed Sports Center arena.
The Bruins didn't allow the energy of the hometown crowd to affect their play as the team came out poised in the opening minutes and gained the lead. The team got excellent play from Larry Taylor who was able to find teammates Kyle Turner and Zach Mercado for open looks. The Bruins were determined to play better defense in the rematch with Pensacola and did a great job of rotating their help defense to force turnovers and tough shots for PCC. With minutes remaining in the first half, the Bruins had built a double-digit lead before the Eagles came on strong with several buckets to cut the lead to 38-32 at the half.
"Defensively we were much tougher tonight," Coach Ring said. "Last time we played we allowed them one or two key plays which cost us the game and we were determined to play smart and execute our defensive gameplan tonight."
In the second half, the Bruins continued to show poise and control as they worked through their sets and drove to the basket to score. The team was also able to take advantage of their free throw opportunities as they shot 18-21 in the second half. The Eagles clawed their way back into the game and tied the score at 61-61 after a three point shot by #32 Dylan Crane. The Bruins responded with a clutch bucket from Kyle Turner and were able to get a stop on defense and score again to gain a two-possession lead. Down the stretch, free throws and great defense proved to be the difference as the Bruins were able to defeat the Eagles 76-66 on the road.
"This was a great team win in an unbelievably tough environment," Coach Ring said. "We always love playing here because the crowd is such a factor. When you lose a tough game like we did to them in our place it fueled our guys to make smart plays and get a quality win on the road. Kudos could go all around to our players tonight but the way we were able to close out the game and the composure and leadership we showed were what I was most proud of."
Larry Taylor led the Bruins with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals. Kyle Turner scored 18 points while snagging 8 rebounds and Zach Mercado provided 13 points. The victory was the first for the men's program over rival Pensacola Christian College in the history of the men's basketball program. With the win, the Bruins move to 10-11 on the season and will look to climb back to .500 as they travel to Warren Wilson College on Tuesday night.
