Winston-Salem, NC -- On Friday night (January 19, 2018), the Piedmont International University Bruins narrowly defeated the Johnson University (FL) Suns with a final score of 80 - 78. Early in the first half the Bruins and Suns battled back and forth for the lead.

Throughout the first half, the suns had an answer for every basket the Bruins made, keeping the score tied or within one possession most of the first half. With about eight minutes left to play in the first half, the suns were up by 4 (21 - 25), giving them the largest lead of the game up to that point. From that point on the Bruins fought to close the gap, but trailed by three at halftime with a score of 36 - 39.

Marcus Ingram led scoring in the first half with 11 points. Antione Robinson was the second highest scorer of the half with 7 points.

The second half started about like the first, except an entirely new Bruins starting lineup. About seven minutes into the second half, the Suns had made a run that brought the score to 44 - 56. With that, the Suns captured the largest lead of the night.

With 11:35 on the game clock and a score of 47 - 56 in favor of the Suns, Colton Bishop stepped up with a huge block. Immediately following his block, Bishop knocked down a long 3. It was at that point that the Bruins momentum shifted and they began to come back.

Within the next two minutes, the Bruins would go on an 11 - 0 run to bring it to a 1 point game. The Suns stayed just ahead of the Bruins until there were about five minutes left to play, that is when the Bruins took a 2 point lead thanks to a last-second basket by Antione Robinson. For the next four minutes, the Bruins and Suns would battle for the lead. With less than a minute to play and the Bruins down by 3, Bishop would drain a long 3 to tie the game at 76.

The Suns had possession of the ball with forty-six seconds left on the game clock, only to have it stolen away by Bishop. Bishop gave the ball to Nash Carter who was then fouled. Carter knocked down one shot giving the Bruins a 1 point lead with 37 seconds to play. Carter would go on to steal the ball and increase the Bruins lead to 3 with a left-handed layup.

In the end, the Bruins fought hard and came out on top with a final score of 80 - 78. Nash Carter led the scoring with 17 points. Colton Bishop was a key player both offensively and defensively with 15 points, ten rebounds, three steals, and his momentum-changing block.  

This win is the last home game for the Bruins before they go on the road for four away games in seven nights, followed by a stretch of home games to finish out their regular season.