Box Score
After a three-game homestand, the Bruins were on the road Tuesday night as they battled conference-opponent Southern Wesleyan University. The Bruins were riding a three-game winning streak which began two weeks ago with a 72-65 win over Southern Wesleyan at home. The Warriors snapped their five-game losing streak on Monday night with an 82-65 win over Auburn-Montgomery, and Southern Wesleyan was looking for a measure of revenge as they took the home court at the Historic Tysinger Gymnasium.
The Bruins scored first off a basket from Kyle Turner to open the game. From there, the Warriors went on an 11-0 and rode the energy of the crowd to take momentum. The Warriors seemingly couldn't miss and were able to grab several offensive rebounds which translated to easy second-chance buckets. After a layup by Terrance Hutchins, the Warriors led 25-8 over the Bruins.
Slowly, the Bruins began to chip away at the lead. Larry Taylor led the Bruins by driving through the lane for buckets and getting opportunities from the free-throw line. Ray Holden provided a boost offensively for the Bruins off the bench. In the final two minutes of the half, the Bruins came charging back to cut the lead to 38-27 at the break.
"They are so tough to play at their place," Coach Ring said of Southern Wesleyan. "We needed to play better defensively and in the first half we were not organizing in transition and giving up too many offensive rebounds."
In the second half, Kenny Holmes opened up the scoring for the Warriors by knocking down a three to increase the lead to 14. The Bruins continued to battle and slowly began to climb back into the game. Each time the Bruins would get within single-digits, the Warriors would go on a run and extend the lead.
The Bruins cut the lead to 84-75, but the Warriors scored clutch baskets and free throws down the stretch to hang on for a 93-82 victory.
"We played well enough offensively to win the game," Coach Ring said. "We had a lot of opportunities and I am proud of our team effort. Really this loss is a good loss in that it prepares us for the remainder of the season and shows us what we are going to have to face. It was a tough loss but a valuable loss for our team."
Larry Taylor led all scorers with 34 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Jason McVey and Kyle Turner each scored 12 and Ray Holden added 11 off the bench. The Bruins gave up 21 offensive rebounds and were outrebounded in the game 53-26. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 13-14 on the season. The team will have a few days of practice before welcoming in Johnson and Wales University on Thursday night.
