Golden Eagles Suffer Second-Half Breakdown in 84-74 Loss to Evangels

SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Nine players scored in double figures, but No. 16 Mid-America Christians Semar Farris poured in a game-high 26 points and the visiting Evangels (17-8, 10-3 SAC) used a 21-4 run to break open a tight game after halftime to down John Brown (14-11, 6-7 SAC), 84-74, tonight inside Bill George Arena.

The Golden Eagles fall to 4-4 on the season against ranked opponents and 2-4 in Thursday evening games since the semester break.

JBU came out firing in the first half and used an 18-7 run to break open a 7-7 tie for a game-high 11-point lead at the 11:05 mark of the first half following a Griffin Brady triple. Over the run, the hosts poured in four triples in five possessions, including a thunderous Brady slam over a trio of Evangel defenders that brought the Bill George Arena faithful to its feet.

“I thought we really came out and competed in the first half tonight,” said head coach Jason Beschta. “We were in a good position going into the start of the second half.”

Brady and freshman Matthew Ledford combined for back-to-back treys with just under three minutes remaining in the first stanza, but only one field goal for the remainder of the first half allowed MACU to finish the frame on a 6-2 run to pull within two, 41-39, at the break.

Then the conference-leading Evangels made its run.

MACUs Jarius Wilson scored six points early to kick-start a 21-5 rally, blowing open a 60-46 lead with 12:43 remaining in the half. The span saw two JBU field goals but just an 0-9 mark from the floor and six turnovers. At the 9:16 mark, MACU opened its largest lead of the game (18) when Chris Runnels turned a Brady miscue into a bucket down low, creating a 70-52 advantage for the visitors.

Brady nailed a triple with 2:58 left before sophomore Zach English cleaned up a Brady miss and then poured in a triple on the next possession to pull JBU within six, 80-74. With just 1:17 left on the clock the Golden Eagles couldnt net any of its final five shots as the Evangels claimed the victory.

“We hit that stretch in the second half, but we didn't score for about five minutes,” added Beschta. “We got some great looks during that stretch, but just didn't knock them down. We know that's going to happen and we needed to shift our focus to the defensive end during that stretch. If we aren't hitting shots, we better make each defense of possession a priority. We didnt and that led to a whole slew of turnovers, something that has plagued us throughout the season.”

The Golden Eagles committed 21 turnovers in the loss. Although each team shot nearly 50 percent from the field, Mid-America Christian used the 21 extra possession to score 26 points in transition and 20 points off of JBU miscues.

Farris led all scorers with 26 points for MACU and also equaled his career-high with seven steals for the Evangels. Runnels scored 16 points and Jarius Wilson added 14s. Hunter netted 11 points and also tied his career-best with four steals in the win.

Brady led all Golden Eagles with 16 points and nearly completed the double-double with nine rebounds. Senior Max Hopfgartner tallied 14 points and eight boards while junior DJ Feitl connected on a trio of triples to finish with 13 points and six asssits. Senior Samson Olayemi and English chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the loss.

“When we play well its evident,” admitted Beschta of his teams play in the first half. “We just need to figure out what keeps us focused, because we struggle to piece together 40 minutes of basketball on defense. We cant continually fight our way back in the final minutes of games. We want to win games, not just be competitive.”

Three of JBUs final five games will come against ranked opponents. On Saturday (Feb. 14) the Golden Eagles will welcome Texas Wesleyan to Siloam Springs for a 3 p.m. contest.