SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Down by as many as 15 points in the first half, the Golden Eagles (16-9, 6-9 SAC) rallied to score 47 points in the second half to defeat Texas Wesleyan tonight at Bill George Arena, 81-70.
Gilbert Gyamfi scored a game-high 28 points on 8-of-16 shooting, and finished 11-of-15 from the line to claim his fourth-consecutive game eclipsing the 20-point mark. His output was his second-best this season and the 12th time this year he has finished with 20 points or better. Kofi Josephs turned in another stellar performance by shooting 5-of-14 from the floor, including a game-high four triples, to finish with 22 points. He also went a perfect 8-of-8 from the line, earning him his 11th game over 20 points. Kurtis Phillips grabbed his first-career double-double as he poured in 13 points and collected a game-high 11 rebounds. Max Hopfgartner came off the bench for the first time this season and turned in a career-high four blocks to accompany 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting and a 6-of-8 evening at the line.
Facing a game-high 15 point deficit at the 3:55 mark of the first half, Gyamfi converted an old-fashioned three-point play to begin a 14-5 run to finish the half. His bucket was the second field goal in a span of four-consecutive John Brown makes as Hopfgartner also chipped in before Josephs hit a triple well beyond the right arc with 1:49 remaining in the half to pull within 10, 38-28. Hopfgartner, Gyamfi and Josephs went a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe to close out the first half at a manageable six-point difference, 40-34.
The Rams started the game on fire, hitting five of its first seven shots, including a trio of three-pointers to take a commanding 13-3 lead. The lead would fall to as few as five, 13-8, when Zach English fed Hopfgartner down low for a bucket, but an 8-3 retaliatory TWU run returned the margin back to 10, 21-11, halfway through the period. Gyamfi would later score consecutive buckets , bringing the hosts' lead to seven, 23-16, but a 12-4 rally from the Rams built its game-high 15-point advantage later in the period.
The second half was a different story, however, as the Rams began the stanza just 2-of-8 from the field, allowing JBU an opportunity to cut into the lead. The Golden Eagles suffered shooting struggles of its own and posted an 0-of-6 mark from the field through the first three minutes. Finally, Hopfgartner and Phillips scored back-to-back triples and just two minutes later, Gyamfi's bucket setup Josephs' trey from the right arc, handing John Brown its first lead of the game, 50-49, completing a 16-9 run over the first 6:37 of the second half.
A pair of ties ensued as the squads battled for the upper hand. At the 10:27 mark, John Brown embarked on a game-clinching 11-1 run that began with a pair of Joseph conversions at the line and finished with consecutive Gyamfi attacks at the bucket. His triple midway through the run continued the streak as Phillips also landed a bucket during the run. Up 70-63, with 2:34 remaining, JBU earned the victory at the foul line as Gyamfi stuck a trio of attempts before Phillips ended the Rams' hopes with a 5-of-6 mark in the final stretch.
After allowing Wesleyan a 15-of-28 shooting clip in the first half (53.6 percent), John Brown held the Rams to meager 10-of-31 mark in the second half (32.3). Both teams shot 49 percent for the evening, but JBU converted 22-of-30 opportunities from the stripe in the second half (73.3 percent).
The Golden Eagles owned the boards, out-rebounding TWU by a 40-27 margin, including 12 offensive rebounds. Despite a narrow 39-34 lead in points in the paint, JBU allowed Wesleyan to score 13 points off 12 miscues while the hosts netted 12 points as a result of 10 Ram errors.
Jorge Redmon paced the Wesleyan offense, earning 16 points off the bench. Four of five Ram started finished in double figures, led by pair of 15-point efforts from Dallas Jones and Deonte Jones. Kenny Rhymes (11) and Vernell Blackman (10) also finished in double digits. Rhymes fell one rebound shy of the double-double by securing a team-high nine caroms in the loss.
After starting the second semester with eight losses in its first nine games, the Golden Eagles have won four of its last five, vaulting JBU into seventh place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings. John Brown will now travel to Chickasha, Okla., to take on Science & Arts (Okla.) on Saturday (Feb. 15) at 5:00 p.m.
