SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Facing a 23-21 first-half deficit against a team that ran up a 90-74 decision back on Jan. 10, the Golden Eagles (13-9, 5-5 SAC) used 10 triples in the first half to build a 25-2 run and return the favor in a 90-68 victory over St. Gregorys (Okla.) tonight inside Bill George Arena.
The victory breaks a minor two-game losing skid for John Brown and keeps the Golden Eagles in the hunt for a top seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament. Now at 5-5 in league play, JBU is just one game back of a five-way tie for second place. The loss sends the Cavaliers (10-8, 6-4 SAC) from second place alone into the middle of the five-way tie.
SGUs Jarron Vierra came out to score 15 of the Cavaliers first 23 points as the lead changed 10 times over the first 10:38. Down by a narrow 23-21 margin, the Golden Eagles pieced together a special run, the tune of 25-2, over the next 8:29 span to take a 48-28 lead into the final minute of the half. Sophomore Zach English and Freshman Julian Erickson nailed back-to-back triples to begin the rally until, at the 5:23 mark, junior DJ Feitl poured in three-consecutive bonus shots behind the arc. Junior Griffin Brady chipped in four points with consecutive buckets until senior Samson Olayemi finished the run with a running layup in transition.
During the game-deciding stretch, the John Brown defense held St. Gregorys, which was averaging 79.6 points per game, to a 1-of-12 mark from the floor, including a pair of turnovers. Vierras triple with 53 seconds remaining finally broke the skid for the visitors, but JBU took a 20-point lead, 51-31 into the half.
The Golden Eagles shot 54.5 percent in the first half, connecting on 10-of-15 three-point attempts (66.7 percent). The Cavs werent as fortunate, shooting just a 35.5 percent clip from the field (11-of-31) and just 2-of-13 from behind the arc (15.4 percent).
The second half was highlighted by close basketball, with John Brown narrowly edging the visitors, 39-37, in the stanza. Erickson scored seven points in the half en route to finishing with a career-high 10 points. English converted a pair at the line with 4:15 left in the game to push JBUs advantage to a game-high 28 points.
Rebounding and defense led to the victory as John Brown out-boarded the visitors 52-23, including setting a season-high with 40 on the defensive end. Offensively, senior Max Hopfgartner grabbed four to lead the Golden Eagles, earning JBU 12 offensive rebounds off of 25 missed shots on the evening (48 percent).
“We executed what we were trying to do tonight, especially on defense,†noted head coach Jason Beschta. “To hold a team like St. Gregorys to just 36 percent tonight is a heck of a job. We have a lot of good shooters on this team, but we need to rely on moving the ball around. To finish with 23 assists on 31 field goals proves we can score not just off the dribble. It proves we can find even more success offensively when we find each other for open shots.
“Were been preaching about boxing out on missed shots. Weve really tried to make that an emphasis. Things clicked for us tonight, even on offense, we are trying to learn which man should be attacking the bucket.â€
JBU finished off 19 fast-break points and, despite committing 21 turnovers, tying a season-high, turned just eight SGU miscues into 17 points. The Cavaliers translated the Golden Eagle errors into 21 points.
“I thought we did a really good job with our tempo, especially Julian and Samson [Olayemi],†Beschta added. “We knew when to push it and when to take our time to setup the halfcourt offense.â€
Feitl poured in a team-high 21 points and finished 5-of-6 from behind the arc. Hopfgartner finished 3-of-3 behind the line for 18 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, clinching his seventh double-double of the season. Brady added 12 points off the bench, scoring on 5-of-8 opportunities from the field. Olayemi dished out a game-high eight helpers in the win.
JBU finished the contest 15-of-24 from long range, setting a single-game season-high with a 62.5 percent clip. The mark is the 12th-best percentage in a single game in program history with at least 10 made three-pointers.
Vierra finished with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor, 20 of which came in the opening period for the Cavs. JBU did a much better job containing Marty Wilkerson, who totaled 14 points. Wilkerson entered the contest as the fifth-leading scorer in the nation, averaging 22.18 points per game.
John Brown will rest until next Thursday (Feb. 5) when it hosts Science & Arts (Okla.) at 8 p.m. inside the Bill George Arena. Back on Dec. 1, JBU opened the conference season with a 77-73 win over the Drovers in Chickasha, Okla.
