Box Score
The Bruins welcomed the Clearwater Christian Cougars to Greenville on Friday night. The two rivals played down to the wire a few weeks ago with the Cougars escaping with a 94-89 win in Florida. The Bruins were able to bounce back and win two of their next three games including a 76-66 win over Pensacola on the road. The Cougars had also won two of their last three including a 100-99 overtime thriller over Piedmont International University on Thursday night. The Davis Field House was packed to capacity as over 3,000 fans were ready to see these two teams compete.
In the opening minutes, the Bruins and Cougars picked up where they left off in their last game by remaining neck and neck while trading the lead. The Bruins built a 19-11 lead after Larry Taylor jump shot. From there, the Cougars clawed their way back into the game with a 7-0 run. Just before the half, the Bruins had again built a 7-point lead. With less than a minute to play, the Cougars fought back and capitalized on a three-point play to cut the Bruins lead to 32-30 at the half.
"We did a good job of limiting their transition buckets," Coach Ring said. "We needed to get into an offensive flow and we just couldn't ever get that."
In the second half, the Bruins and Cougars went back and forth trading the lead. Neither team was able to establish momentum as each time the lead was taken, the other would respond to take the lead. With less than two minutes to play, the Cougars gained a three point lead after a layup by Devin Paularinne 71-68. The Bruins responded as Larry Taylor swished a three-point shot to tie the game at 71-71. The Cougars came right back and capitalized on a three-point play to gain the 74-71 advantage. After a Zach Mercado free throw, the Bruins had cut it to a one possession game and came up with a big defensive stop to get another look with seconds remaining.
On the ensuing possession, Larry Taylor was fouled while driving through the lane but only made one of two free throws. After Mike Key missed on a 1 and 1 opportunity the Bruins called timeout to take one final shot with 2.2 seconds remaining. Larry Taylor's desperation shot sailed just wide as the Cougars held on for a 74-73 win.
"We allowed them to do what they do best," Coach Ring said. "We told our guys after the game that we have to put this loss behind us. If we allow this loss to come with us into our next game we allow them to beat us again. Obviously in a one-point loss you are going to second guess a lot of your decisions, but hopefully we'll all get better from this."
Larry Taylor led all scorers with 31 points and 7 assists. Zach Mercado had 13 points while Kyle Turner added 10. The Bruins allowed the Cougars to shoot 62% in the second half and committed 13 turnovers on the night. With the loss, the team falls to 10-12 on the season.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road as they travel to Warren Wilson College to make-up a cancelled game with the Owls on Monday night.
