SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- In what started out as a bizarre opening to the 34th Annual Toilet Paper Game, the Golden Eagles (1-0) continued its streak of home-opening victories behind 25 points from senior Max Hopfgartner and a 47-32 scoring margin in the second half to defeat Central Baptist (Ark.), 82-67, tonight in front of 2,191 fans at Bill George Arena.
Hopfgartners game-high output on 9-of-11 shooting made head coach Jason Beschta a winner in his program debut. Additionally, JBU captured its 14th-consecutive Toilet Paper Game victory dating back to the 2000-01 season when Park (Mo.) handed John Brown its only loss in program history in the marquee event.
Ironically, it was the Golden Eagles who would shoot the first technical free throws of the match after the Mustangs were hit with a technical foul for dunking in pregame warmups. Hopfgartner landed both attempts, handing the hosts a 2-0 lead before the opening tip.
Bill George Arena was packed with anticipation leading to the first bucket as John Brown began the game 0-of-4 from the floor. Finally at the 17:35 mark, senior Samson Olayemis layup broke the drought and the sellout crowd littered the floor in what has been dubbed “the best technical foul in all of sports.â€
Featuring seven new players and three newcomers to the starting lineup in 2014, JBU ended the game shooting 29-of-58 from the floor (50.0 percent) as junior DJ Feitl shot 6-of-10 to finish with 16 points and junior Griffin Brady added another 15 points and six rebounds. Hopfgartner completed the double-double with a game-best 14 boards, sending the hosts to a 39-37 rebounding advantage. Junior Ronalds Elksnis came off the bench and added nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting night from the field. Freshmen Matthew Ledford and Jordan Green, along with Hopfgartner, posted a team-high three assists in the win.
The Golden Eagle defense held the visiting Mustangs to a 36.4 percent shooting effort in the second half and a 0-of-9 mark from three-point range throughout the contest. CBC stayed close in the match with a 15-of-18 mark from the line (83.3 percent), but finished the contest at 38.2 percent overall (26-of-68).
Bradys first triple of the match knotted the score at 17-all and his second consecutive three-pointer gave John Brown a 20-19 lead. Both teams continued to trade points through the entire first half, however. With a 22-21 lead, JBU allowed the Mustangs to rattle off a brief 5-0 run, building the visitors lead to a game-high four points, 26-22.
Another lay-in from Olayemi broke the Golden Eagle drought and a triple from sophomore Zach English followed by a pair of Brady free-throw makes returned the lead, 29-27, back to JBU. Hopfgartner would tally six-straight points down the stretch for John Brown, but Central Baptist continued to hold close, scoring the halfs final bucket off a turnover with 25 seconds left as the squads entered the intermission tied at 35 apiece.
Feitl opened the second-half scoring with a bucket and followed with a triple, keeping John Brown with a 40-39 advantage. Finally, at the 14:38 mark, a pair of Hopfgartner conversions at the charity stripe gave the hosts a 45-44 lead, an advantage the Golden Eagles wouldnt give up the remainder of the game.
JBUs defense would hold the Mustangs to five missed field goals over the next 5:31 as Feitl closed out a 12-4 run to build a 59-48 lead. Three consecutive Elksnis field goals followed by buckets from Olayemi and Hopfgartner ran up John Browns lead to a match-high 19 points, 71-52.
After the Mustangs clawed back to within 14, 73-59, a pair of Green makes at the line ended the CBC rally with 2:31 left. Fietl closed the scoring with his second triple of the contest at the 1:22 mark, sealing the victory for John Brown.
With the win, the Golden Eagles move to 33-1 all-time in the Toilet Paper Game series and a 1-0 mark against Central Baptist in the tradition.
John Brown University also traded toilet paper for tonight's event in exchange for canned goods that will be donated to the Manna Center of Siloam Springs, another tradition Director of Athletics Robyn Daugherty hopes to continue.
"We're thrilled with the response tonight," admitted Daugherty. "We're very excited to bless the Manna Center and Siloam Springs with so many items of canned food. This turned out to be an excellent opportunity to connect with the community and we're very excited to continue this partnership in the future."
JBU will return to action on Thursday (Nov. 6) when it hosts Dallas Christian (Texas) at 7 p.m.
