SPRINGDALE, Ark. -- Sophomore forward Nate Anderson posted a pair of career-highs, finishing the night with 19 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots to propel John Brown (1-0) to a season-opening victory tonight against Ecclesia (Ark.) (0-1) at Har-Ber High School.
Anderson's 19 points proved to easily beat his previous career high (11) while his performance at the line, 9-of-10, also marked his personal best output.
A pair of returners joined Anderson in double digits as sophomore Kofi Josephs scored 13 of 15 points in the first half, notching a two of his of his four field goals from behind the arc. Junior Max Hopfgartner chipped in with 13 points, grabbing the majority from a 7-of-8 night from the charity stripe.
The Royals jumped out to an early 17-8 advantage, piecing together an 8-0 run while the score was just 9-8. The Golden Eagles didn't begin the game well, shooting just 3-of-12 from the field. Josephs landed five of the eight points while freshman Austin Freet grabbed a bucket in the paint.
Down 21-14, freshman Quinton Smith nearly single-handedly brought John Brown back as he drained a triple before converting three consecutive free throws, forcing a 23-21 score. JBU quickly tied the game at 23 after Anderson landed a pair of shots from the charity stripe. Another Anderson bucket down low handed the visitors its first lead at 25-24 while was quickly matched by the hosts.
Smith came through again under the basket when he collected an errant Josephs triple attempt, giving the Golden Eagles a 27-25 lead that it wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the contest.
John Brown finished the first half on a 10-5 run, keyed by a quartet of Joseph free through while Anderson contributed another tandem of shots from the line, placing the halftime lead for the Golden Eagles at 37-30.
Both squads shot fairly well in the first stanza. JBU held the slight advantage at 37.0 percent while Ecclesia checked in at 35.7 percent. Josephs paced the team with 12 first-half points while Hopfgartner grabbed a squad-leading five boards.
The Golden Eagles opened the second half where it left off in the first when junior guard Samson Olayemi and Hopfgartner drained back-to-back shots, pushing the lead for the first time to double-digits at the 18:59 mark. A pair of Zach English free throws ballooned the advantage to 15 (47-32) before Ecclesia used an 8-2 run to pull within nine.
Still maintaining a nine-point advantage (51-42), John Brown finally pulled away for good by jetting out to a 9-0 run that was keyed by a Josephs triple, his only basket of the second half, and a trio of points from senior Kurtis Phillips. Finally the John Brown advantage great to 20 as senior Gilbert Gyamfi and Hopfgartner both landed their respective pair of free throws.
Although the Royals would chip away slowly at the Golden Eagle lead down the stretch, pulling to within 10 at 71-61, an English triple, his lone attempt on the night, squashed the Ecclesia comeback bid. Just after another pair of shots from the line, Anderson capped off his career evening with an emphatic dunk with 1:49 left in the game, returning the visitor's lead to 15 where it would end as JBU pulled out the 82-67 victory.
John Brown dominated two facets of the game while proved to be the deciding factors, holding impressive advantages over the Royals in both rebounds (55-26) and free throw shooting. JBU landed 30-of-40 attempts from the line (75.0 percent) while Ecclesia only managed a 19-of-33 (57.6 percent) clip.
Phillips led the Golden Eagle charge on the boards, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds while throwing around a game-high four helpers, matching his career high, which he did three times last season. JBU finished the night pounding the offensive boards, earning a 19-10 advantage as six different players pulled down at least a pair of caroms on the offensive end of the floor. The Golden Eagles turned in a 24-of-56 (42.9 percent) effort from the floor, limiting the Royals to 22-of-60 (36.7 percent) on the night.
John Brown will now turn its attention to the 33rd Annual Toilet Paper Game when it welcomes NCCAA opponent Crowley's Ridge (Ark.) to the Bill George Arena on Saturday (Nov. 2) for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
