SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Junior DJ Feitl tied a career-high with 27 points but Science & Arts (Okla.) shot 56.6 percent on the evening and featured five players in double figures, leading the Drovers to a 93-83 win over John Brown (13-10, 5-6 SAC) tonight inside Bill George Arena.
With the win, USAO breaks an nine-game losing skid away from Chickasha, Okla. The Drovers entered the game 0-7 in road games and 0-2 in neutral site contests.
“We just did not defend tonight,†said head coach Jason Beschta. “They hit some tough shots against us, but also just shot the ball really well by getting great looks. We have to make defense a priority and something we execute consistently night after night. I just don't think our focus was there on the defensive end tonight. It showed in the way we didn't execute our responsibilities on that end.â€
Markens Charles poured in a season-high 26 points on a 7-of-10 effort from the field while hitting 12-of-15 attempts at the charity stripe. EdLexus Collier pulled down a game-high eight rebound and scored 19 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from long range, helping the visitors shoot 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from behind the arc.
Jerry Coriolan (12), Ahmir Bailey (11) and Donnie Brown (10) rounded out USAOs double-figure scorers.
Science & Arts (5-13, 4-7 SAC) turned 13 Golden Eagles turnovers into 23 points, including scoring an 18-2 margin in fast-break points. Although John Brown won the turnover battle, 16-13, it could only manage 13 points off Drover errors.
“Even though our turnover number was lower than usual tonight, the ones we committed were costly ones,†added Beschta. “We committed too many ‘live ball turnovers which led to easy transition buckets for them.â€
Senior Max Hopfgartner kicked off the game with a triple as JBU pulled ahead 8-3 to start the contest. The Drovers responded with a 10-0 run over the next 3:02 to take a 13-8 lead at the 14:18 mark. Colliers triple handed the visitors a 20-12 advantage, but a bonus shot from Feitl keyed a four-possession string that saw JBU score a field goal in each possession, closing the gap to 27-23.
Charles retaliated with an and-one but Feitl countered with two triples and two more field goals, bringing the Golden Eagles back to within three, 36-33. Markins finished the half on a personal 5-0 run, allowing the Drovers to take a 41-34 lead into the break.
USAO shot a season-high 64 percent in the second half (16-of-25) and lead by as many as 17 at the 8:30 mark of the second stanza. Sophomore Zach English converted a pair at the line before Feitl and freshman Julian Erickson scored on back-to-back possessions, trimming the deficit to 11 points, 72-61. Junior Brady Griffin finished off an old-fashioned three-point play and senior Samson Olayemi turned a Coriolan error into a bucket, forcing just a nine-point Drover lead with 5:04 left to play. However, three turnovers in the next three trips down the court cost John Brown as time whittled away. Science & Arts finished the contest 24-of-31 from the line (77.4 percent) to hold onto its first road victory.
The Golden Eagles shot 44.4 percent from the floor (28-of-63), but finished just 9-of-27 from long range (33.3 percent). Feitl netted four of those triples to tally a game-high 27 points. Hopfgartner turned in his 10th 20-plus point game with 21 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Brady secured his second-consecutive double-digit outing with 16 points off the bench on a 5-of-11 shooting effort.
The week wont get any easier for JBU. The Golden Eagles will now travel to No. 17 Oklahoma Baptist (17-6, 6-5 SAC) on Saturday (Feb. 7). The game is slated to start at 5 p.m.
“It's a quick turnaround now before we head to Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday,†Beschta noted. “Thankfully what we need to do can be largely corrected by taking pride in and caring about each possession.
