Boone started at a sprint right out of the opening tip, suffocating the Winter Springs Bears with a 16-3 lead going into the second quarter. With the shots falling and the defense keeping Winter Springs cold, the Braves made it look easy in the first quarter.
However, the second quarter was a different story with the Bears launching an assault of 3-pointers, forcing the Braves to switch to a zone-defense. Aided with a flurry of Boone turnovers and fouls, the reinvigorated Winter Springs squad scored 25 points and cut the lead to only two, making the score at halftime 30-28.
The second half started slowly with both teams searching for the bottom of the net and poor ball security. The Bears managed to take a 32-33 lead with 3:37 to go in the period, their first lead of the night. Boone kept it close ending the third quarter tied, 37-37.
Both clubs found their rhythm in the fourth quarter. The play was quick and the shots were falling for each school. The period was a back and forth chess match up until the end with junior Tyler Colson tying the game at 54 a piece with less than a minute to go. The Bears had possession of the ball with a chance to ice it when senior Jose Melendez came up with a timely steal and the winning bucket on the other end to put the Braves up by two with 15.5 seconds left. Winter Springs had a good look at the buzzer but could not get it to fall, pushing the Braves to a .500 record at 3-3.
Notable performances include Jose Melendez with 16 points and sophomore Justin Butler with 15 points. Senior Jeremy Bouton had an admirable night with 7 points, but had to be taken out of the game towards the end with foul trouble.
The Braves’ next opponent during the four game home-stand will be Lake Howell on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Wayne Rickman Gymnasium.