Box Score The Bruins sparked a rally in the 2nd half, but it was too little too late as the team lost their 3rd straight with a 93-75 loss to Johnson and Wales University on Tuesday night.
"I was really proud of the effort our guys gave in the second half," Coach Neal Ring said. "The effort was there and the energy was there and we really played strong in the second half when our guys could have called it in. They kept battling and working hard and we outscored them in the second half."
The Bruins and Wildcats had met just a few weeks ago in Greenville, with the Wildcats coming away with a 95-68 win. The Bruins came into Tuesday night with a 7-17 record as the team was looking to bounce back after losses to Pensacola Christian College and North Greenville University. The Wildcats were 13-10 on the season but were coming off a tough 79-71 road loss to Belmont Abbey College on Saturday. The Bruins knew their defense would have to be at its best to slow down the Wildcats as the two teams prepared for round two of their season series.
From the opening tip, the Wildcats picked up where they left off in their last meeting with the Bruins by attacking the lane and taking advantage of high percentage shots to give them an early 22-12 lead. Tramain Parker and DeQuincey Bennett provided the scoring touch for the Wildcats, as JWU couldn't seem to miss as they continued to increase their lead. Just before the half, the Bruins looked to close the gap but a banked in three-point shot as time expired allowed the Wildcats to take a sizable 52-31 lead into the break.
"It wasn't as much of what went wrong for us in that everything was going right for them," Coach Ring said. "They are a good team and frankly we struggled at times with slowing them down."
In the second half, the Bruins came out strong and rallied with a 6-0 run right out of the gate to cut into the lead. Noah Smith was lights out for the Bruins hitting 6 three point shots throughout the course of the game. The Bruins offense was clicking as the team was working the ball for the open shot and then capitalizing on their opportunities to score. Their defense also improved as they transitioned to a zone to slow down the Wildcats shooting.
Despite outplaying the Wildcats in the second half, the Bruins deficit was too much to overcome as the team dropped its 3rd straight with a 93-75 loss.
"We got beat by a better team today," Coach Ring said. "It is good for us to play against teams that play at a high level and I thought this was a real gut check performance by our team in never giving up and continuing to battle back. I was really proud of our effort."
Noah Smith led the Bruins with 21 points while Chae Dexter scored 14, Dustin Killough notched 12 and Marshall Riddle finished with 11. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 7-18 on the season. The team returns home for a matchup against Piedmont International University on Thursday night.
