Quincy Bruce had a bowling night to remember

CEDAR RAPIDS — Quincy Bruce had the kind of night most bowlers only dream about earlier this month.

On April 6 at May City Bowl, bowling on lanes 21 and 22 in the Nguyen Enterprise-Tuesday Niters League, the 26-year-old Bruce put together games of 299, 300 and 290 for an 889 series.

That broke the Cedar Rapids USBCBA record of 878, rolled by Pat Reisinger on March 30, 1999 at Lancer Lanes. It also broke the previous house record of 876, set by Bill Walantus on Nov. 19, 2007.

Bruce missed tying the state record of 899 — rolled by Steve Sikkema of Clinton in 2010 — by 10 pins.

Bruce said he told himself to “just keep going, do your best and don’t think about it.”

He opened the series with 11 strikes, then rolled the perfect game. He said he was telling himself not to shoot 190, “just keep going” and repeating his shots.

“The pressure was off in the first frame,” he said of the 290 game.

His teammates helped keep his mind clear by telling jokes and talking about anything other than bowling.

After the last ball was thrown, Bruce said things felt very unreal. He still can’t comprehend what he did that night.

“When the last ball was thrown, the whole center erupted, and that was for 889,” bowler Marcus Mitts said. “Just think what it would have been like if it were a 900.”

Bruce left 2 stone 9 pins, on the 12th ball of his first game for the 299, and then first ball in his third game, which he ended with the 290.

Had the two 9 pins carried, Bruce would have had that 900 series. The week before, his last game was a 300 — showing just how hot he was and how close he came to perfect series.

Bruce has been bowling most of his life, starting out in youth leagues and then bowling for Cedar Rapids Washington in high school. He also bowled collegiately at William Penn.

He owns 44 career 300 games and 31 career 800 series. His previous high was 858.

His averages are 246 on Monday evenings and 240 on Tuesdays.

His thought going into that night it was just another night of having fun and bowling the best he could. He never thought he would roll an 889 series.

Lane Lafler is a Director on the CRUSBCBA Board and member of the IBMA (International Bowling Media Association)