Box Score The new-look Bruins put on a show for the hometown fans as the team shot 55% from the field and 53% from behind the arc to win their home opener 86-72 over Barber-Scotia College on Friday night.
Matthews finished with 14 points as the Bruins
won their home opener 86-72 over Barber-Scotia"Last year they came in and scored almost at will against us," Coach Ring said. "So we were determined tonight to play strong on the ball and play good defense behind it. For a good part of the game we were able to be in our gaps and do a good job defensively. Offensively, I felt like we tried to make it too hard and taking something simple and making it difficult. We did a good job in our motion stuff and had good play off the bench to help us tonight."
The Bruins were coming off back-to-back wins to open the 2015-16 season while the Barber-Scotia Sabers came into Friday's game on a four-game losing streak at 3-4 on the season. The energy of the crowd was electric as the fans were ready for the home opener as the Sabers and Bruins took the floor.
Marshall Riddle came out of the gate on fire and score 10 of the Bruins first 14 points as the team jumped out to a 14-9 lead. The Bruins were able to move the ball to the open man and finish their opportunities. The Sabers refused to let the Bruins run away with it as they stayed in the game by catching fire from 3-point range to keep it close. After a basket by Walter Jackson, the Sabers had fought back to tie it at 31-31. From there, the Bruins got great play from their bench as Kirtis Yurchak and Noah Smith helped the Bruins finish the half on a 13-3 run to take a 44-34 lead into the break.
"I feel like most of the time I have a hot hand," Riddle said. "I try to stay confident and I get more confidence when my teammates have confidence in me to get me the ball. When we got away from trying to take a guy one on one and play as a team we were able to get good shots."
In the second half, the Sabers began to chip away at the Bruins lead, but the Bruins came up with a big shot when it mattered most to keep the upper hand. After back-to-back baskets by Dustin Killough the Bruins increased their lead to double digits 49-38 but two-straight three's from the Sabers brought Barber-Scotia right back into it. Justin Matthews got the crowd on their feet as he
stole the ball and threw down an emphatic dunk to give the team a spark. Marshall Riddle would provide more shooting throughout the closing minutes as the Bruins never looked back and finished off the Sabers with an 86-72 win.
"It was exciting tonight," Matthews said after finishing with 14 points and 5 rebounds in his first home game as a Bruin. "It was kind of overwhelming because I have been out for so long but it was great to get back out there. We enjoy playing for the fans who are passionate and really get into the game. We have a lot of parts on this team that go together well."
Marshall Riddle led all scorers with 22 points while Justin Matthews had 14, Dustin Killough had 12 and Kyle Turner had 10. The Bruins had 19 assists on 34 baskets and did a great job of sharing the ball throughout the game. With the win, the Bruins remain unbeaten with a 3-0 record. Next up, the team will have a quick turnaround as they welcome The Apprentice School on Saturday afternoon in day two of the BJU Bruins Invitational.
