Box Score
The Bruins were on the road on Tuesday night as they began the first of a three game road trip in Florida. Their opponent would be the Johnson University Suns. The school was formerly Florida Christian College but merged this last season to be called Johnson University of Florida. The Bruins were coming off a tough loss to Tennessee Temple and were looking to get back into the winning column after riding a three-game losing streak entering Tuesday's game.
The Bruins came out strong in the opening minutes and worked through their offensive sets to gain open looks. Larry Taylor spread the floor for the Bruins and Zach Mercado was on fire from three point land as he knocked down shot after shot to provide an offensive presence for the Bruins. Despite the red-hot shooting, the Suns kept the game close by driving through the lane and gaining baskets. The Bruins took a narrow 41-40 lead into the break.
"I really wasn't pleased with us defensively in the first half," Coach Ring said. "We had good looks offensively but we gave them too many opportunities to score and we were not playing to our potential on defense."
In the second half, the offensive duo of Taylor and Mercado provided the aerial assault as the Bruins began raining three point shots to extend the lead. Zach Mercado was 7-14 from three-point range and the Bruins picked up their intensity on defense to force tough shots and turnovers. "He was in the right place at the right time and knocked down a lot of big shots for us," Coach Ring said. As the half wore on, the lead became more lopsided with the Bruins controlling tempo and each possession. The final buzzer handed the Bruins an 90-73 win to snap their losing streak.
"It was a good opportunity for us to get back on the winning side of things," Coach Ring said. "It was a good team effort and a good team win for us tonight. We hope we can keep this up as we continue this road trip."
Zach Mercado led all scorers with 34 points and Larry Taylor added 27 points and 8 assists for the Bruins. With the win, the team improves to 7-9 on the season. The Bruins will be on the road for two more games this week in Florida. Next up, the Bruins will travel to Florida College on Thursday night.
