SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The Golden Eagles (2-0) used a pair of 20-point performances from newcomers DJ Feitl and Matthew Ledford en route to a 98-85 victory tonight at Bill George Arena over Dallas Christian.
Ledford sank 9-of-15 attempts from the three-point line to tie a school record, set by three individuals, the latest of which was Adam Workman against Oklahoma Christian on March 2, 2007, to finish with a game-high 29 points. The career-high for the freshman was also followed up by another career performance from Feitl, who connected on 8-of-14 from the field, six of which came from behind the arc. Feitls 25-point performance came dangerously close to his first-career triple-double as he finished the night with 10 assists, a game-high, and six rebounds. Senior Max Hopfgartner collected his second-consecutive double-double by netting 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor and a game-high 10 rebounds in the win.
JBUs 18 triples lands the squad tied for third in most three-pointers made in a game in program history. The last Golden Eagle squad to accomplish the feat was the 2005-06 team which sank 18 at Lubbock Christian on Jan. 14, 2006. The all-time program record is 21 in a game, set in 2002 against Messenger (Mo.).
The Golden Eagles controlled the boards, 51-33, fueled by eight caroms from both Griffin Brady rebounds and Ronalds Elksnis. DCC enjoyed a 50-33 margin in points in the paint, but seven points from freshman Jordan Green helped the hosts to a 24-17 advantage in reserve scoring.
“This is one of the best games I have been around where we shared the ball so well and selflessly got each other great shots,†said head coach Jason Beschta. “We had 26 assists on 32 baskets and thats something were very pleased with. It was great to see our guys battle and push the game open with our defense in the second half. Tonight showed that we have a lot of offensive weapons and dont have to rely on just one or two guys all the time.
“Nine three-pointers for Matt is an incredible accomplishment. He is such an elite shooter. It was fun to see him have a breakout performance in only his second collegiate game.â€
It didnt take Ledford long to have that breakout performance as his triple at the 19:18 mark opened the scoring for John Brown, tying the game at three apiece. Triples by Ledford at the 18:47, 16:00 and 11:04 marks helped the Golden Eagles build a 28-20 advantage. However, Dallas Christian (0-3) relied heavily on Miles Burnside, who netted 19 points in the first half and also connected on 4-of-4 attempts from behind the arc to keep the Crusaders within striking range.
Down 30-23, DCC used a 9-0 run over the next 2:53 to pull ahead, 32-30. A Hopfgartner bucket down low tied the score for a fourth time in the half before the squads traded points and battled to two more deadlocks over the next 2:32 of the half. Burnside converted all three attempts at the line after absorbing a foul from behind the arc and Dallas Christians Stoney Washington turned a JBU turnover into a fast-break layup, placing the hosts into its largest deficit of the contest, 45-40, with 3:15 remaining in the stanza.
The Golden Eagles responded with a 12-3 run over the final 3:15, powered by a pair of triples from Feitl, handing John Brown a narrow 52-48 lead at the intermission.
A pair of Brady buckets in the paint held the lead at six, 56-50, at the 18:07 mark. Sporting an eight-point margin, 65-57, after Feitl knocked down a pair at the line, Dallas Christian made another run to cut the lead to four, 65-61. However, a Feitl triple at 11:17 jump-started a 19-6 JBU run over the next 4:21, which was capped off by Feitls sixth trey of the evening, vaulting the Golden Eagles to a game-high 22-point lead, 89-67. The Crusaders were able to whittle the John Brown margin to 10, 95-85, but the hosts managed to sink 3-of-4 opportunities at the line down the stretch to seal the 98-85 victory.
Burnside led Dallas Christian with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including a 5-of-6 night from behind the arc. Trent Dawson also poured in 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the floor. Burnside nabbed a team-best eight rebounds in the loss.
After shooting 50.0 percent in the season opener, John Brown continued its hot shooting, finishing the night 32-of-65 (49.2 percent), including a 54.5 percent mark (18-of-33) in the first half. The Crusaders were held to a 43.2 percent shooting effort (32-of-74), and failed to deliver on its three-point shooting, something heavily relied on, in the second half. DCCs accuracy from behind the arc dropped from 50.0 percent (6-of-12) in the first half to 22.2 percent (2-of-9) in the second.
JBU will continue its seven-game homestand on Saturday (Nov. 8) when it hosts Arlington Baptist (Texas) at Bill George Arena at 2:30 p.m.
