The Bruins began their busy week with a bounce-back 84-72 victory over the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats.

The first half began and the Bruins got hot in a hurry and got out to a quick lead. Trevor Pittman and Braxton Murray accounted for 10 of the Bruins first 12 points in their early double-digit lead. Then Brandon Wilkins got hot and had a great half for the Bruins leading them with 15 points. The Wildcats, however, went on a scoring streak and got back into the game. The Bruins led by 12 points with 11 minutes left in the first half, but they went into halftime down two. It could have been more if not for Wilkins and Pittman having a great half on the offensive side. 

"We weren't playing to our standard in regards to the level of effort and focus in that first half," Head Coach Tony Miller said. "That all changed in the second half though."

In the second half, the Bruins took control of the game, and this time, they kept it. The intensity on defense forced the Wildcats to shoot rushed and difficult shots. They held the Wildcats to only 28% from the field in the half. On the offensive side, Shad Vander Hart found his rhythm driving to the rim. His strong drives gave him six trips to the free throw line where he shot 11-12 in the half and 13-14 in the game. With his 22 second half points, Vander Hart scored over half the Bruins points. Wilkins and Pittman added more on the offensive side, and the Bruins put the game out of reach. They came away with a 84-72 win.

The Bruins shot 22-24 from the free throw line tonight changing the narrative from the weekend. They also shot nearly 50% as a team in the game. Shad Vander Hart had another dominant stat line with 26 points and 16 rebounds. Brandon Wilkins finished with 22 points followed by Trevor Pittman with 17. Braxton Murray and Dillon Harris scored quality points tonight with nine and six.

This was the Bruins first of three home games this week. The next is on Thursday as they host Baptist University of Florida in a very important region game with the south region tournament coming next week.