SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Riding lights-out shooting in the first half, the No. 12 John Brown University men's basketball team built up a 41-23 lead at halftime and withstood the full-court press as the Golden Eagles swept the season series with Philander Smith (Ark.), grabbing an 80-60 victory on Tuesday night (Dec. 10) inside Bill George Arena.
The hosts piled up an 18-point lead at the bathroom break by hitting eight triples and shooting 54 percent, while the visiting Panthers managed just a 32 percent mark from the field.
After tying the game early at six, the Panthers were forced to absorb five consecutive John Brown triples as the hosts went on a 19-2 run to break the contest open for good. Four of the five triples came from JBU big men as junior Densier Carnes hit a trio and senior Quintin Bailey added another.
During the rally, Philander Smith managed just one field goal over a five-minute span.
The triple parade didn't end there, however, as freshman Adam Asgeirsson came off the bench to provide two more and junior Kiree Hutchings chimed in with one of his own, building a 16-point lead, 34-18.
Bailey added back-to-back buckets in the paint as the Golden Eagles carried a lopsided lead into the intermission.
The second half was a much closer affair as the Panthers were forced to break out the full-court press. This caused bouts of fits for the Golden Eagles as JBU turned the ball over 18 times in the second half. Fortunately, the nation's 10th-best offense shot 64 percent (14-of-22) over the final 20 minutes and converted 8-of-10 from the charity stripe to keep pace with the desperate Philander Smith comeback effort.
Carnes finished the contest a perfect 5-of-5 from the field to lead all Golden Eagles with 14 points, while sophomore Luke Harper contributed 13. Bailey scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half and Hutchings finished the contest with 12 points and five boards before fouling out.
The Panthers mainly rode Dejalin Austin, who recorded 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. While JBU limited Austin to just 8-of-17 from the floor, no other Panther was able to reach double-digit scoring as the nation's seventh-best defense, allowing just 63.8 points per game, kept PSC at 60 in the contest.
While the visitors made John Brown pay for its 25 miscues to the tune of 27 points off turnovers, the Golden Eagles won the battle on the boards, 33-21, and finished the contest at nearly 60 percent from the floor, hitting 27-of-46, including 11 triples. JBU also turned in a 15-of-18 effort from the free-throw line to capture its 11th consecutive victory to open the 2019-20 season.
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JBU will close out the first semester, looking to finish 12-0, by returning a trip to Crowley's Ridge (Ark.) on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 14) at 3 p.m. The Golden Eagles are just one of seven teams remaining in NAIA I with an undefeated record.
