With postseason behind them, the Bruin boys varsity basketball team took the hardwood on the road in Winston Oregon against the Douglas Trojans. With last years Bruin league home opener OT thriller against these Trojans in the back of their minds, the Bruins jumped out early with a high energy full court press and put the Trojans on their heels early.
Led by sophomore forward Logan Holler #1 who scored 5 points in the quarter with a 3 pointer and a layup, the Bruins pressured the Trojans early with a full press from the dead ball and ran on the Trojans after any Trojan mistake or turnover. The Bruins put 15 points on the Trojan defense in the first period and took a 15-8 lead into the second quarter.
But just like last year, the Trojans weren’t going away easily and broke down the Bruin defense in the second quarter with inside passing forcing the Bruins to chase the ball and creating open shots. But the Trojans were not ready for sophomore center Derek Bonde #42 who used his size to get 8 points on the board for the Bruins in the paint. The Bruins were outscored in the second quarter 15-17 by the Trojans and went into the half time break 30-25.
In the third period, the Bruins were again outscored by the Trojans as the Trojans focused their defense on Bonde down low and held him to just 2 points in the quarter. However, the focus on Bonde opened up the opportunity for senior #0 Luke Beaman, who led Bruin scoring in the third period with 4 points. The Trojans began to challenge the Bruin defense driving inside and forced the Bruins to foul putting the Trojans in the bonus midway through the 3rd period, and the Trojans took advantage getting to the line 6 times, sinking 5 of those free throws in the third period.
Holding on to a 45-41 lead going into the fourth period, again it was the Bruins Derek Bonde who took control of the paint. Bonde hit four buckets in the fourth quarter, scoring 8 of the 10 points the Bruins would score in the period and led all scorers with 18 points in the game. The Trojans and Bonde would trade scores throughout the quarter as time ran out and the Bruins held on to a 55-51 win.
The Bruins will have their league home opener this Friday evening at 6:00 pm when the 1-0 Sutherlin Bulldogs come to town after a 21 point league win of their own against Cascade Christian.