SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- With a 12-0 run late in the first half and a staunch defensive effort in the second, the John Brown University men's basketball team handed No. 21 Wayland Baptist an upset 86-64 score inside Bill George Arena on Thursday night (Jan. 4).
Junior Jake Caudle netted a game-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting the floor and added five assists while sophomore Brenton Toussaint added 12 points and seven rebounds, vaulting the Golden Eagles (8-4, 3-1 Sooner Athletic) to its first win over a ranked team this season and its fourth win in the last five outings.
Hitting 17-of-18 free throws relieved a lot of pressure for JBU, but the Golden Eagles shot better than the visitors from both the field and behind the arc, while pressuring Wayland into four more turnovers, and owning the advantage in rebounding by nine, 35-26.
Thirty-seven bench points, powered by 10 from junior Benjamin Smith and freshman Darrell Jones each, helped the Golden Eagles reach 3-1 in the SAC for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
While JBU sputtered offensively out of the gates, the Pioneers (9-3, 2-2 SAC) built an 11-point lead, 30-19, with 4:49 remaining in the first half. Back-to-back triples from freshman Nathan Corder and Caudle jump-started a 12-0 run that featured jumpers from Caudle, Jones and finally a second Corder triple, to flip the lead to the hosts, 34-30, with 1:26 remaining in the half.
Trading points just before the intermission, WBU's offense fell flat in the second half, allowing John Brown to piece together yet another double-digit run, this time to the tune of 13-0. The rally blew open a 46-43 lead into a 59-43 advantage that kept the visitors off the scoreboard for over six minutes.
After a small pushback to close within 10, the Pioneers had no answer for the pressing John Brown defense as the hosts rallied one last time on a 12-2 run, ending Wayland's chances for a comeback for good.
The Golden Eagles broke out offensively in the second half to the tune of 51. Percent from the floor, holding the visitors to just 43 percent, but, more importantly, held an 18-9 advantage on the glass over the final 20 minutes of play.
Corder finished 3-of-4 from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc.
JBU will now continue its three-game homestand with a finale against SAC-newcomer Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday (Jan. 6), set to tip off at 3 p.m.
