SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Freshman Luke Harper first collegiate attempt fell and just 14 seconds into the contest, small college basketball's best tradition turned another year old as the John Brown University men's basketball team scored 53 first-half points and rolled to a 108-66 victory over Ecclesia (Ark.) on Saturday (Nov. 3) night inside Bill George Arena.
Seniors Jake Caudle and Josh Bowling led the way with team-high 16 points. The duo each controlled five rebounds as Caudle connected on 4-of-9 behind the arc and Bowling hit 7-of-10 inside the arc. Sophomore Rokas Grabliauskas contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists in John Brown's 12th win over Ecclesia (0-2) since 2010.
All five starters finished in double-figure scoring for the Golden Eagles, including Harper. In his college debut, Harper was 5-of-8 from the floor for 12 points and added four boards and a trio of helpers. Junior Quintin Bailey also made a splash in his Blue and Gold debut with a double-double, finishing the contest with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The hosts completely dominated the boards to the tune of 52-24, helped by the Royals' 32 missed shots on the evening. Despite this, Ecclesia remained competitive at the intermission, riding the red-hot shooting of De'Vontae Ross, who was a perfect 8-of-8 from behind the arc in the first half before closing out the contest at 9-of-10 to post a game-high 31 points in the loss.
Caudle and Harper both netted 10 points in the first half, helping the Golden Eagles break a 17-17 tie and use a 36-14 run over the final 12:13 of the first half to put the game out of reach. Junior Brenton Toussaint brought down the house with a pair of rim-rattling dunks in the final 3:12 of the first half – including a spin around Cash Krueger that finished with a one-handed slam. His second was just as acrobatic – this time an alley-oop flush off a floating feed from Harper with 1:47 left in the first.
The Golden Eagles shot over 50 percent in each half, finishing the season opener at 44-of-83 (53 percent). More impressively, JBU turned 18 offensive rebounds into 34 second-chance points, and doubled up the visitors in the paint, 60-32. The John Brown bench out-scored the Ecclesia reserves to the tune of 41-12 in the lopsided affair.
Davion Lockridge hit 6-of-12 from the field to score 15 points for Ecclesia, including a trio of rebounds and assists.
JBU turns around to take on Ozark Christian (Mo.) on Monday (Nov. 5) night inside Bill George Arena in a 7 p.m. tip.
