SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Junior Griffin Brady easily scored a career-high 26 points and the John Brown mens basketball team (8-1) received a pair of double-doubles as it ended the first half on an 18-0 run to easily put away Williams Baptist (Ark.) tonight, 82-66, inside Bill George Arena.
The win closes a portion of JBUs non-conference schedule. The Golden Eagles will return to action on Monday (Dec. 1) at Science & Arts (Okla.) before taking on Oklahoma Baptist on Dec. 6. John Brown will then head to Little Rock, Ark., for a three-game, two-weekend span to face Philander Smith (Ark.) before taking on Campbellsville (Ky.) and Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in tournament action.
For the second consecutive contest, the John Brown defense was up to the task. The hosts held the Eagles (2-4) to a 3-of-21 mark from behind the arc (14.3 percent) and a 9-of-28 effort from the field in the first half (32.1 percent).
Brady poured in a career-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor. His 17 attempts and four blocks also stood as career highs. Junior DJ Feitl contributed his first-career double-double by netting 18 points and pulling down 10 defensive rebounds. Senior Max Hopfgartner, after starting out the season with three-consecutive double-doubles, finally earned his fourth with 15 points and a game-high 12 caroms. Junior Ronalds Elksnis was again effective off the bench by tallying eight points and seven rebounds, three off the offensive glass.
Feitl knocked down back-to-back triples within 29 seconds of each other, both from passes by senior Samson Olayemi, as JBU took a 19-12 lead at the 11:25 mark of the first half. With 6:14 left in the first stanza and down by eight, 29-21, WBCs Tevin Howard drained a triple to pull the visitors within five. However, the Golden Eagles defense would hold Baptist scoreless for the remainder of the half while shooting out to an 18-0 run of its own. Three Brady triples powered the lopsided span and allowed JBU to enjoy a 47-24 lead at the half.
While maintaining a double-digit lead through the majority of the second half, the Eagles finally whittled the lead down to nine, 69-60, after finishing off a 9-2 run over a 2:26 span. JBU responded accordingly when Elksnis and Olayemi paired up for two straight buckets in the paint before Brady notched another four points, two from the line, at the 3:03 mark to return the margin to 16, 77-61. The teams traded five points to end the contest at 82-66.
The Golden Eagles eclipsed the 50 percent shooting plateau for the third time this season by finishing 31-of-62 from the field and submitted a better three-point effort, knocking down 7-of-18 attempts from long range (38.9 percent). The hosts also attacked the bucket early and often and were rewarded with 59 points in the paint. John Brown also won the rebounding battle, 44-37, while Williams Baptist committed one less turnover, 18-17.
Three players scored 85 percent of WBCs points as Abel Yekeh (19), James McCalin (19) and Tevin Howard (18) each finished in double figures. McClain pulled down a team-high nine boards and Stanley Malcom dished out a team-leading four assists.
JBU received a game-high five helpers from Olayemi while Feitl and freshman Julian Erickson each passed out four assists in the win.
