OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- The once 18-point Golden Eagle lead was whittled down to two possessions in the second half, but a strong response rebuilt the 18-point lead as the No. 23 John Brown University men's basketball team earned a tough 83-67 win over Mid-America Christian (Okla.) on Thursday (Feb. 14) night inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
Aided by the return of senior Josh Bowling after his first-career absence, the Golden Eagles received 17-point outings from both Bowling and senior Jake Caudle and owned the paint, 36-18, en route to ending the Evangels' four-game winning streak. JBU, coupled with an Oklahoma City loss to Panhandle State, now stands alone in second place in the Sooner Athletic standings with three games left in the regular season.
"We had a lot of good looks around the bucket tonight," head coach Jason Beschta noted. "It allowed us to shoot at a really high percentage."
That the visitors did, to the tune of 57 percent (27-of-47), and out-muscled MACU to a 38-21 rebounding advantage, including six offensive caroms that resulted in nine second-chance points.
While shooting 60 percent in the first half, the Golden Eagles (19-8, 13-6 Sooner Athletic) built an 18-point advantage behind 14 Caudle points. However, Mid-America Christian (16-11, 9-10) finally made its push just before halftime and extended it into the second half.
Facing a 43-25 deficit after a Luke Harper jumper, MACU rallied on a 14-0 run that extended over five minutes into the second half to pull within four, 43-39. Slowly, the visitors rebuilt its lead possession by possession, but more importantly, pieced together a 6:11 defensive stretch that limited the Evangels to just four points and three turnovers.
Punctuated by a Densier Carnes bucket in the post, JBU finished rebuilding its 18-point advantage by the 8:42 mark of the second half.
Bowling led the way in the latter period, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor and scoring 15 of John Brown's 40 points over the final 20 minutes of play. JBU converted 13-of-17 from the line down the stretch.
"I was really proud of the way we defended an athletic MACU team who can really score off the dribble," added Beschta. "It's a difficult matchup for us. They made a great run to start the second half, but I was proud to see our guys push back and regain a comfortable lead."
The conference's top defense held MACU to a 41 percent effort from the floor.
Harper came off the bench to contribute 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Also off the bench was junior Desmond Kennedy, who added 11 points and four assists. Carnes finished with his second double-double of the season, scoring 11 and grabbing 11 rebounds in the win.
Anthony Black hit five triples to finish with 17 points for the hosts. Charles Beauregard added 12 points off the bench.
JBU will now look to exact some revenge on Saturday (Feb. 16) when the Golden Eagles welcome Science & Arts (Okla.) to Bill George Arena. USAO stole the first matchup, 64-63, inside the Drover Fieldhouse. Tip is slated for 4 p.m.
