FT. WORTH, Texas -- Texas Wesleyan ended the game on a 16-7 run and squashed an admirable run, holding the John Brown University men's basketball team at bay for the final 3:55 to take an 84-75 decision over the Golden Eagles on Thursday night (Jan. 11) inside the Sid Richardson Center.
Juwan Jones hit 8-of-13 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the line to score a game-high 27 points to accompany eight rebounds and four assists while Branden Jenkins pitched in with 21 points as the Rams (9-6, 4-3 Sooner Athletic) moved within a half a game of the Golden Ealges (9-5, 4-2).
Through four lead changes, JBU faced a nine-point deficit with 6:45 remaining in the contest. Back-to-back layups from junior Jake Caudle and sophomore Kristijan Joksimovic jump-started a quick 11-2 Golden Eagle run that took just under three minutes to complete. Freshman Darrell Jones picked off a pass at the top of the key and took the ball the length of the court to tie the game at 68 with 3:55 left in the contest.
What You Need to Know
» John Brown dropped its fourth-consecutive contest to Texas Wesleyan and hasn't knocked off the Rams since Feb. 11, 2016.
» Averaging 21.3 points per game entering tonight, junior Jake Caudle was limited to 10 points, his lowest output since Nov. 14 (10 games).
» With the game tied at 68 with 3:55 left to play, TWU finished on a game-clinching 16-7 run as JBU went just 2-of-10 down the stretch.
» Entering the contest averaging 34.8 percent behind the arc, the Rams hit 43 percent of its chances from long range (7-of-16). |
Unfortunately, for the Golden Eagles, that's when an ill-timed cold streak from the floor hit as the visitors hit just 2-of-10 from the floor in the remainder of the contest and turned the ball over twice as the defending national champions escaped with the victory.
JBU struggled from behind the arc all night long, hitting just 6-of-19 from three-point range (31.6 percent). While John Brown owned the paint to the tune of 40-26, but the Rams pushed the ball to their advantage, out-scoring the Golden Eagles 18-4 in transition.
Behind 10 first-half points, junior Marquis Waller led JBU with 11 points, as did junior Benjamin Smith. Waller finished 3-of-9 from the field while Smith registered a 5-of-13 effort from the floor, including nine rebounds.
Jake Caudle had just three points at the intermission, but added seven more in the second half to slide in double figures. Freshman Darrell Jones had a strong effort, hitting 4-of-4 and dishing out a game-high six assists in the loss.
The Golden Eagles will look to rebound in a difficult environment, the Shaeffer Center, when JBU takes on Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Saturday (Jan. 13) at 3 p.m. in Waxahachie.
