OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Facing a manageable nine-point deficit at the half, the John Brown University men's basketball team was betrayed by its three-point and free-throw shooting as Mid-America Christian (Okla.) pulled away for an 89-66 decision inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night (Feb. 8).
The Golden Eagles (13-10, 7-7 Sooner Athletic) had its short two-game win streak snapped while the Evangels (14-9, 8-7) pulled a half game above JBU for sixth place in the SAC table with six games remaining in the regular season.
Hampered by poor shooting, JBU hit just 2-of-18 from three-point range (11.1 percent) and converted 14-of-26 from the line (53.8 percent). Coupled with scoring 19 points below its season average, the John Brown defense had no answer for MACU's Andre Hearn, who battled his way to a 29-point effort, marking a career-high output, as the hosts shot over 50 percent in each half.
What You Need to Know
» Andre Hearn scored a career-best 29 points for MACU, 18 more than he scored in the first meeting at JBU on Jan. 20.
» In its two matchups with John Brown, the Evangels shot 57-of-102 (55.8 percent) from the field, averaging 88.5 points per matchup.
» Junior Jake Caudle scored over 20 points for the ninth time this season, netting exactly 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
» The Golden Eagles shot 11.1 percent from behind the arc and 53.8 percent from the charity stripe, marking season lows in each category. |
"I'm not please with our defensive effort tonight," head coach Jason Beschta offered. "MACU is talented offensively. I can live with tough shots, but not the ones we gave up in transition. We didn't communicate well and we didn't execute our game plan. We allowed our offense to dictate how hard we played on defense."
Although JBU narrowly held control of the post by a 38-36 margin, the Evangels used 18 visitor miscues to carry a 30-11 scoring lead in points off turnovers, despite committing 15 of its own.
Hearn tied the game at two after freshman Densier Carnes opened the scoring. He then hit a triple to hand MACU a 5-2 lead as the hosts led for the remainder of the contest.
The Golden Eagles cut the Evangel lead to three or four numerous occasions, but couldn't get any closer. The hosts used a 13-5 run late in the contest to push the JBU deficit to 20, 82-62.
Keyshawn Perkins and Daniel Williams added 12 points apiece for MACU, while Javan Perry scored 10.
Caudle hit 20 points for the ninth time this season, and added six rebounds. Junior Marquis Waller scored seven points and grabbed eight rebounds, helping John Brown to a 38-30 boarding advantage, but no other Golden Eagle could join Caudle in double-digit scoring.
The Golden Eagles now head into a weekend matchup with Science & Arts (Okla.) on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Bill George Arena.
