SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The Golden Eagles (14-9, 4-9 SAC) had four starters finish in double figures, but Oklahoma City was able to counter with six of its own, including two off the bench, sending John Brown to an 86-76 loss at Bill George Arena tonight.
John Brown began the game lights-out from long range, connecting on 6-of-7 to open the contest, riding triples from Gilbert Gyamfi, Kofi Josephs, Quinton Smith and Kurtis Phillips. The three-point barrage vaulted the hosts to an 11-point advantage, 28-17, at the 7:38 mark of the first half. The double-digit lead, 35-25, continued late into the first half until the Stars rebutted with a quick 7-2 run to pull within five, 37-32. Max Hopfgartner landed a pretty bank-shot with 53 seconds left in the first half, allowing the hosts to enter the break with a five-point lead, 39-34.
Gyamfi started off the second stanza with seven of JBU's first nine points, and Phillips drilled a triple at the 15:49 mark, keeping the Golden Eagles steady with City's pressure, 51-45. Josephs and Smith each converted a pair at the line before Zach English finished off a fast-break rush, courtesy of Jared Johnson's steal, to push the advantage to nine, 59-50. JBU fell into a rut, however, scoring just one point over the next 5:15 as City capped off a 13-1 run to grab its first lead of the game, 63-60. Gyamfi attempted to single-handedly keep John Brown in the contest as he nailed a pair of charity stripe attempts before scoring his third triple of the game. Down 70-65, he didn't stop there, as he netted three more points before the visitors pushed the margin to a game-high 10 points, 78-68. Both squads traded free throws down the stretch, but John Brown was unable to make up any ground as it fell, 86-76.
Gyamfi paced all John Brown scorers with 25 points on a 7-of-13 effort from the field. He finished 3-of-6 from long range and connected on 8-of-11 attempts from the line. Josephs also earned eight at the foul line and finished with 16 points while Smith shot very efficiently, netting 3-of-4 attempts from the floor, including a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the arc, while converting all four chances at the charity stripe. Phillips poured in 11 points on a 4-of-8 shooting night to finish the list of double-digit JBU scorers.
The Golden Eagles out-rebounded the visitors, 33-22, but committed 22 turnovers in the loss, allowing City 32 points directly tied to miscues. JBU finished 20-of-42 from the floor (47.6 percent) while the Stars earned a 51.9 percent clip (28-of-54) in the win. OCU's reserves outscored John Brown's bench by a 32-6 margin.
R.J. McGhee scored a game-high 26 points for Oklahoma City (12-8, 8-5 SAC), by converting 8-of-13 field goals. Kaleb Smith added 12 points while Jamaal Crayton chipped in with 10. Enter the game off the bench, Terrence Walker (10) and Terence Bonhomme (10) each completed double-digit efforts.
JBU will now face Wayland Baptist (Texas) at Bill George Arena on Monday (Feb. 10) afternoon at 5:00 p.m. The two squads met just a week ago as the Golden Eagles escaped the Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas, with a 67-66 win, upending the Pioneers' 13-game home winning streak.
