PLAINVIEW, Texas -- Quinton Smith and Kofi Josephs each tallied 18 points, but the Golden Eagles (13-8, 3-8 SAC) had to weather a dramatic ending before holding off Wayland Baptist (Texas), 67-66, this afternoon at the Hutcherson Center in Plainview.
Max Hopfgartner converted a pair of attempts from the free throw line with just seven seconds left in the game, but the Pioneers wouldn't exit quietly. With John Brown holding onto a narrow 67-62 lead, WBU's Travis Payton hit a running three-pointer with three seconds left, forcing a seemingly inevitable JBU victory to suddenly be called into question. On the ensuing inbounds, Smith was unable to put the ball in play before earning a five-second violation, turning the ball back over to the Pioneers with a chance to tie or win the game.
Baptist had a much easier time inbounding the ball as Markus Monroe slashed to the basket before taking the inbounds pass, forcing Kurtis Phillips to use his fifth and final foul of the afternoon. In a bit of dramatic irony, Monroe was allowed to take the front-end of a double-bonus free throw before John Brown head coach Clark Sheehy was able to substitute for Phillips. After brief discussion amongst the officiating crew and despite missing the premature attempt, Monroe was awarded his first opportunity back because JBU didn't have all five players on the floor.
Monroe hit the front end, forcing Sheehy to call a timeout as the Golden Eagles clung to a 67-66 lead. Out of the timeout, Monroe attempted his second shot, which wouldn't fall. Josephs corralled the rebound as the Golden Eagles escaped with a one-point victory.
With the victory, John Brown not only managed to put an end to Wayland Baptist's perfect 12-0 mark at the Hutcherson Center this season, but also broke its own five-game losing streak. The Pioneers had most recently knocked off then-No. 1 Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Jan. 23 and then-No. 22 St. Gregory's (Okla.) on Jan. 30.
The Golden Eagles committed 25 turnovers in the winning effort, which was negated by Wayland Baptist's poor shooting night. WBU finished just 25-of-67 from the field (37.3 percent) and drilled just 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from the arc. The Pioneers had been averaging just over 90 points per game this season before the staunch John Brown defense held the hosts to 24 points below its nightly average.
Smith scored a career-high 18 points on a near-perfect 6-of-7 shooting output from the floor, which included a quartet of three-pointers, also a career-best. Smith also secured seven rebounds. Josephs joined Smith as the game's leading scorer at 18 while throwing around a game-high five helpers. Gilbert Gyamfi and Max Hopfgartner scored nine points apiece in the winning effort.
Both squads battled to four early ties that featured a five-point Golden Eagle deficit, 7-2, at the 16:46 mark of the first half. A Josephs jumper tied the match at seven before Gyamfi deadlocked the score at nine moments later. Josephs secured a triple to even the match at 12 while Smith's running lay-in knotted the score at 14-all. Finally, the JBU took its first lead when Phillips buried a shot from beyond the arc, 20-18. Baptist quickly tied the score at 20 before taking off on a 9-0 run over a 3:48 span. John Brown was quick to respond, however, as Jared Johnson's layup ended the host's rally and spurred JBU to a period-ending 13-2 run. Phillips hit Zach English darting to the bucket for a lay in before the Golden Eagles closed the half with three consecutive triples, two from Josephs and another from Smith, earning a slim 33-31 lead at the break.
Wayland Baptist scored the first four points of the second half until Josephs and Smith each netted a bucket of their own, with Smith's coming from long-range, to hand the Golden Eagles a 38-35 advantage. Both teams continued to trade leads throughout the majority of the half before WBU jumped ahead by four, 51-47, at the 6:36 mark. Over the next 3:38, John Brown hit four triples as Smith's deep bomb jump-started a 13-4 run. Smith later hit his fourth and final trey during the rally while Hopfgartner and Gyamfi each contributed a trifecta.
A tandem of Smith makes at the stripe pushed the lead to 63-60 with only 55 seconds remaining. Baptist missed the ensuing shot, but was able to collect its 13th offensive rebound of the game, keeping the Pioneers' chances alive. WBU was forced into another miss as Hopfgartner pulled down the carom, forcing Baptist to foul Gyamfi, who eventually received an outlet pass from Hopfgartner. Gyamfi hit both from the line with 16 seconds left in the match, but in nine seconds, the Pioneers traveled the length of the court and tipped in an errant shot to remain close, 65-62, setting up the dramatic final moments of the contest.
John Brown finished the tilt shooting 46.7 percent from the field (21-of-45) but, more importantly, drained 12-of-25 chances from beyond the arc (48.0 percent). The mark was the squad's highest output since a 13-of-34 effort from long range at Texas Wesleyan on Jan. 4. All five starters hit at least one triple, led by the four each from Josephs and Smith. Hopfgartner drilled a pair while Phillips and Gyamfi each added one.
Taking a page out of the Pioneer playbook, the Golden Eagles out-rebounded the hosts, 37-34. Baptist had averaged 31 defensive rebounds per game, fourth-best in the nation, and 44.750 total rebounds per game, also fourth-best nationally. Phillips pulled down a game-high 11 errant shots while Smith and Hopfgartner each collected seven.
The Pioneers (15-6, 6-5 SAC) were led by Monroe's 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Travis Payton finished with a dozen points while Royal Crouch had 11 and Barry Johnson chipped in with 10.
Now 2-8 since Christmas break, John Brown will look to collect its second victory of the semester against Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Thursday (Feb. 6) when it travels to Bethany, Okla., to face the Eagles at 8:00 p.m.
