Box Score
The Bruins were back at home on Thursday night as they welcomed the Johnson and Wales University Wildcats. This game was originally to be played last week, before a snow storm blanketed the Southeast to cancel the game. The Bruins were coming off a difficult loss on the road to Southern Wesleyan University. The team had won their previous three games before the loss on Tuesday night. 

Johnson and Wales entered Thursday's game with a 12-18 record but had won their previous 4 games. The Bruin faithful wore red to support heart disease awareness in partnership with the American Heart Association. The Bruins took the court looking to get back to .500 on the season. 

As the game began, the Wildcats jumped out to an early 8-2 lead behind the shooting of DeQuincey Bennett and Bobby Scriven. The Bruins were able to bounce back and cut into the lead. As the half continued the two teams kept it close as both tried to establish control of the pace of the game. The Bruins took their first lead of the game after one of three first-half three pointers from Zach Mercado with just over three minutes remaining in the half. The Wildcats closed out the half well and took a 43-42 lead into the break.  

"We needed to stay in front of them off the dribble and we didn't do a good job of that in the first half," Coach Ring said. "They had a lot of one on one shots and we were really late in helping on defense. Forty-three points in a half is not a good half and it was amazing we were still only one point down." 

In the second half, the Bruins came out strong with an 11-0 run to start the half. Jason McVey powered the Bruins with 6 points in the opening minutes. The Bruins played with great intensity and pushed the tempo of the game to free up their offense for shots. Evan Brondyke came off the bench and went 4-4 from three-point range to give the Bruins a spark. "Everyone was just doing their part," Bruins guard Evan Brondyke said. "When everyone is able to do what they do well it opens up the game for everyone else. That helps us click a lot more."

The team shored up their defense and was able to force the Wildcats to shoot just 35% from the floor in the second half. The Bruins relied heavily on the defensive post play of Kyle Turner and Kirtis Yurchak. "We just did our work. It was simple as that," Yurchak said. The team controlled the tempo of the second half and maintained their double-digit lead. The team spread the scoring around as 6 different players scored in double-figures for the Bruins en route to a 93-75 victory. 

"We've been talking a lot about the word 'share,'" Coach Ring said. "That is sharing the load on defense and the scoring on offense. We just have to keep playing unselfish as a team and keep making plays." 

Zach Mercado led the Bruins with 21 points. Kyle Turner chipped in 13 points and 9 rebounds and Evan Brondyke scored 15 points off the bench. The Bruins shot 59% from the field including 50% from three-point range in the game. The team had 22 assists on 30 baskets tonight and really shared the ball well to get back into the winning column. With the win, the Bruins climb back to .500 on the season at 14-14. The team will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Piedmont International University on Friday night.