SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Despite owning a lead as big as nine in the first half, John Brown (20-10, 10-10 SAC) couldn't withstand a second-half run by Southwestern A.G. (Texas) as the fifth-ranked Lions stole a close 74-68 decision this afternoon at Bill George Arena.
The loss snaps JBU's six-game winning streak and forces the Golden Eagles to play in the opening round of the upcoming Sooner Athletic Conference tournament to be held in Shawnee, Okla. John Brown will face Northwood (Texas) on Wednesday, just six days after handing the Knights an 87-73 loss in Siloam Springs. JBU, despite today's setback, finished as a winner in eight of its final 10 games down the stretch.
Gilbert Gyamfi and Kofi Josephs each tallied 17 points to lead John Brown in scoring in the loss. Gyamfi hit 7-of-16 chances from the floor while Josephs converted 4-of-12 opportunities, including two triples and a 7-of-9 effort from the line. Kurtis Phillips secured an unconventional double-double, his fourth of the season, by collecting 10 rebounds and handing out 10 assists, a career-best. He also scored nine points and finished one point shy of a triple-double. Max Hopfgartner came off the bench to contribute 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Golden Eagles faced a three-point deficit coming out of the intermission, but Smith's second triple of the game knotted the score at 31 apiece, the match's second deadlock. The Lions returned the lead to five on two more occasions until Gyamfi secured a missed three-pointer from Josephs before sticking the put-back. Gyamfi then corralled a rebound and led Smith up the right baseline as Smith poured in his third triple of the game to tie to contest at 43 with 13:07 left in the game.
Coming out of a timeout, SAGU pieced together a 13-2 run over the next 3:50 to take a commanding 11-point lead, 56-45. John Brown would attempt to climb out of the double-digit hole for the remainder of the contest. Smith's bucket at the 2:49 mark prompted JBU on a 9-2 run, fueled by a pair of Josephs free throws and back-to-back buckets in the paint from Gyamfi. Finally within a one-possession game, the Lions sent an inbounds the length of the court to a streaking Dominique Rambo, who finished the layup, ending John Brown's hope of tying the match. SAGU finished 7-of-8 at the line down the stretch to complete the win.
JBU began the game with an impressive defensive stand, forcing Southwestern A.G. into a shot clock violation on its first possession. Josephs sank two of three chances from the free throw line to open the scoring at the 18:03 mark and Smith earned his first three-pointer of the game for a quick 5-2 advantage. Rambo powered the Lions back to two-straight field goals, taking a one-point lead, 6-5, its only lead of the half until 65 seconds remaining in the stanza.
The Golden Eagle lead would balloon to five at the 12:25 mark when Zach English cut under the basket and took a pass from Phillips before finishing off an old-fashioned three-point play. English split a pair at the line at 8:25 and Hopfgartner poured in his only three-pointer of the game from the right arc, vaulting the hosts to a 19-12 lead. The 6-0 JBU run continued as Hopfgartner collected his initial miss, sticking back the second while drawing a foul. His conversion at the line distanced John Brown by its highest margin, 22-12. SAGU closed out the first half with a 17-6 run, however, as the Golden Eagles missed four of its final five shots from the floor of the half.
John Brown finished the game 24-of-58 from the floor (41.4 percent) but could only drop in 7-of-20 chances from behind the arc (23.3 percent). The Lions managed to shoot slightly better (42.9 percent) by scoring 27-of-63 chances but made the most of its long-range chances, scoring three-pointers at a 42.3 percent clip (11-of-26). JBU out-rebounded the visitors by a 38-36 margin and dominated the paint by securing a 40-28 advantage. SAGU forced just three more errors by the Golden Eagles, 14-11, and held a small 13-10 margin in points off turnovers.
Rambo, the conference's leading scorer, lead all players with 31 points on 12-of-24 shooting. The Lions (26-4, 17-3 SAC) also received 20 points from Caleb Gentry and nine points from Tyler Guidry off the bench in the win.
Before the game, the Bill George Arena crowd bid farewell to JBU's two seniors - Gilbert Gyamfi and Kurtis Phillips - as the pair of transfers played their regular season finale in Siloam Springs.
