CONWAY, Ark. -- Despite building a 26-point lead in the first half, the Golden Eagles rode three triples and 5-of-6 shooting in overtime on Tuesday (Nov. 10) night, as the John Brown University men's basketball team finally defeated Central Baptist (Ark.), 85-76, inside the Reddin Fieldhouse.
Senior Densier Carnes, junior DJ Ellis and junior Payton Guiot each sunk triples in overtime as the Golden Eagles (3-1) limited Central Baptist to just 2-of-8 from the floor in the final five minutes to pull out the win in Conway.
Guiot erupted for a career-high 32 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field as he connected on seven triples in addition to seven rebounds off the bench. Carnes hit 9-of-15 overall and added four boards and three assists before fouling out.
The Golden Eagle offense that hit at a near-50 percent clip (17-of-35) in the first half cooled off after halftime, while the Mustangs (0-4) responded with a 13-of-25 mark (52 percent) to overcome a 34-8 deficit with 7:24 left in the first half.
A 13-0 Central Baptist run over a 3:56 span of the second half quickly trimmed the Golden Eagle lead to one, 53-52, before the visitors responded with 11-3 rally of its own. However, over the final 4:11 of the second half, CBC hit 5-of-7 from the field, including Jordan Parker's shot from the paint that kissed off the glass and in at the buzzer to complete a 14-5 run to force overtime.
The JBU defense stepped up in overtime, thought, forcing five scoreless Central Baptist possessions while the visitors hit a trio of triples and converted 3-of-6 from the line to come away with its first road win of the 2021-22 season.
Central Baptist's only lead of the night came off a Kelvin Robinson layup to open the scoring in overtime. JBU then finished the evening on a 16-5 run.
"We had such a good start to the game where we were locked in defensively and were finding each other for some great shots," head coach Jason Beschta noted. "After some foul trouble, we really utilized our bench and they delivered. When a team comes back like they did in the second half, it can be difficult to answer, but our guys did in a big way.
"Instead of acting defeated going into overtime, we put our foot on the gas and put it away early. Payton's shooting and Densier's scoring and defense were huge for us tonight."
Robinson finished the tilt with 37 points and 18 rebounds, shooting 12-of-20 from the floor to pace CBC. Jordan Parker contributed 13 points in the loss.
John Brown will now return to Siloam Springs for a brief two-game homestand, starting with Ozark Christian (Mo.) on Thursday (Nov. 11) evening at 7 p.m. The SAC Sports Network will carry the game live.
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