SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Sporting a 14-point lead with just over three minutes left in the contest was just enough as the No. 21 John Brown University men's basketball squad captured a 78-75 upset win over No. 10 Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Thursday (Feb. 7) night inside Bill George Arena.
The visiting Pioneers (18-6, 13-3 Sooner Athletic) rode a game-closing 22-11 run to pull within three, but a final WBU turnover after intercepting a John Brown inbounds pass proved to be too much to withstand as the Golden Eagles (18-7, 12-5) earned its third-straight win over WBU inside Bill George Arena and pulled within 1.5 games of the league leaders with five games remaining in the regular season.
JBU improves to 5-2 on the season over teams ranked in the NAIA's Top-25 Polls.
In a clash of the Sooner Athletic's top two defenses, the visitors were able to pull within striking distance after John Brown built a 16-point lead midway through the second by converting 14 JBU turnovers into 22 points. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the final stanza, but the Golden Eagles turned to a strength – its foul shooting – to the tune of 19-of-21 to finish off the season sweep.
Freshman Luke Harper came off the bench to drill a trio of triples, including one to punctuate the end of the first half, to contribute a season-high 17 points to accompany four rebounds and two assists. JBU's leading scorer, senior Josh Bowling, poured in a game-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.
Junior Desmond Kennedy again made his presence felt off the bench – adding 10 points and four assists. Senior Jake Caudle earned all he could at the stripe (8 points) to hand in 13-point performance.
While the contest was nearly identical in the shooting departments – both teams attempting 49 field goals and hitting eight triples – with Wayland earning just three more, JBU went to work at the stripe, hitting 24-of-28 on the night. The foul shooting, in addition to forcing the Pioneers into a season-worst 24 turnovers, was enough to overcome the visitors' advantage in shooting and rebounding (27-23).
Wayland was led by Trevonta Robertson's 18 points, followed by J.J. Culver's 14 and Lindsey's 12.
The Golden Eagles pull within 1.5 games of the Pioneers and expand its lead over Oklahoma City by a full game and Langston (Okla.) by 1.5 games. City picked up a big win at Southwestern A.G. (Texas) while Langston fell at home to Science & Arts (Okla.).
JBU will complete its three-game week on Saturday (Feb. 9) by welcoming Oklahoma Panhandle State to Bill George Arena for a 4 p.m. tip. OPSU stole the first meeting of the season away from John Brown in Goodwell, Okla. by turning an 18-point halftime deficit into a 71-69 decision by out-scoring the Golden Eagles 44-24 in the second half.
