SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Sophomore Brenton Toussaint netted a career-high 17 points, all in the second half, and after braving an early cold shooting spurt, the John Brown University men's basketball team remained in a tight Sooner Athletic race with a 77-63 win over Southwestern Christian (Okla.) inside Bill George Arena on Thursday night (Feb. 1).
The win propelled the Golden Eagles (12-9, 7-6 Sooner Athletic) to a season sweep of SCU, and kept John Brown still within just two games of first place in a jam-packed league table that leaves squads little to no room for error on a nightly basis.
What You Need to Know
» John Brown shot just 20 percent behind the arc, easily its lowest long-distance shooting effort in a win this season.
» Sophomore Brenton Toussaint contributed a career-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting, besting his season scoring average by nearly 10 points.
» The Golden Eagles swept the season series with Southwestern Christian for the third time since SCU joined the Sooner Athletic in 2013-14.
» Southwestern Christian had its three-game road winning streak snapped tonight, which also featured a one-point win in handing No. 11 Wayland Baptist its first home loss of the season. |
Facing an early 8-2 deficit, buckets from sophomore Mateo Habazin and freshman Denzier Carners setup junior Jake Caudle's first triple of the game as JBU roared back to a 9-8 lead. However, in a first half that featured two ties and three lead changes, the teams volleyed the advantage back and forth.
Both teams hovered around the 40 percent mark from the field, but Caudle scored 15 of his game-high 29 points in the first half to keep John Brown in the contest. Three-straight free throws followed by a triple from Caudle was followed by another trey from junior Marquis Waller from the left wing, extending the hosts' largest lead of the first half to nine, 24-15.
A quick 10-2 SCU rally brought the visitors to within one, 26-25, but free throws and a late Waller jumper kept the Golden Eagles in command at the intermission, 34-29.
Caudle continued his assertion and Toussaint took over in the second half, powering John Brown to a 52 percent mark in the half, and a 26-15 rebounding advantage. Although the visitors would eventually cut the Golden Eagles lead to four, twice, Toussaint responded with consecutive buckets down low, keeping Southwestern Christian from edging any closer.
John Brown converted 13-of-18 from the stripe in the half and held SCU to a mere 37.1 percent effort from the field (13-of-35) over the final 20 minutes of play.
Waller finished with 12 points while Toussaint and Caudle each grabbed a team-best nine boards in the win.
Casey Cole posted his second double-double of the season, scoring 22 and landing 10 rebounds. No other Eagle could find double-figure scoring as SCU finished 21 points below its season average.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday (Feb. 3) and will welcome Ecclesia (Ark.) back to BGA for the second time this season, in lieu of the cancelled St. Gregory's (Okla.) series. Tip is scheduled for 3 p.m.
