SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- In what was just a ten-point lead at the 11:09 mark of the second half, the Golden Eagle defense held Ozark Christian (Mo.) to just one field goal over the next 8:10 and pieced together a 33-2 run, sending John Brown (4-0) to a 93-62 win over the Ambassadors tonight inside Bill George Arena.
Ozark Christian (0-3) kept the game close for 30 minutes, behind 17 points from Dawson Allmoslecher and 14 points from Evan Stubblefield, but JBU received double-digit outputs from freshman Matthew Ledford, junior DJ Feitl and senior Max Hopfgartner to earn a fourth victory in as many games to kick off the season.
Ledford led all scorers with a game-high four triples on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. Hopfgartner barely missed out on his fourth-consecutive double-double by chipping in 18 points, including a 9-of-10 effort from the line, and seven rebounds. Feitl poured in 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting and boasted three rebounds, a trio of assists, a steal and a block. Senior Samson Olayemi dished out a season-high eight assists while junior Ronalds Elksnis came off the bench and pulled down a game-best and career-high 13 boards in the win.
Both teams shot well in the first half as the visitors sank 14-of-30 attempts for a 46.7 percent shooting effort while John Brown landed 15-of-34 attempts to finish the stanza with a 44.1 percent efficiency. The second half proved to be the difference as the Ambassador offense fell off to the tune of 29.7 percent (11-of-37) while the Golden Eagles only improved, finishing the half with a 48.6 percent mark (17-of-35).
The Golden Eagles received valuable minutes from the reserves in the second half and relied heavily on the bench in the win. Freshman Jordan Green tallied a career-high nine points and two offensive rebounds while Zach English (7) and Elksnis (6) helped JBU to a 29-17 margin in points from the bench. John Brown also controlled the boards easily, 53-31, and used 18 offensive rebounds, tying a season-high, to add 16 second-chance points. The Golden Eagles also held the advantage in points in the paint (48-38), assists (23-10) and blocks (5-2).
JBU broke open an early 2-2 tie when Feitl buried a fast-break triple at the 18:59 mark, sending the hosts on an 11-0 run. Junior Griffin Brady, Feitl and Ledford hit three-consecutive triples, sparking John Brown to a 26-10 lead with 9:30 left in the half. Seven consecutive Hopfgartner points werent enough down the stretch as the Ambassadors began a comeback with a rally to pull within five, 40-35. Hopfgartner converted three of four attempts from the charity stripe before the half ended, allowing John Brown some breathing room at the intermission.
Elksnis scored under the basket and followed the score with a pair from the line on the next possession, keeping OCC at bay to the tune of 52-39 with 17:44 left on the clock. Green missed two straight shots but finally buried his third attempt on the same possession and Ledford poured in another triple on the next trip down the court, extending the hosts advantage to 14, 62-48. The effort made way for the final 33-2 down the stretch that featured the Golden Eagles converting all six attempts from the line.
With the win, the Golden Eagles move to 4-0 for the ninth-consecutive season, dating back to the 2006 season. John Brown will return to action on Thursday (Nov. 13) when it hosts Southwestern Adventist (Texas) at Bill George Arena for an 8 p.m. tip.
