SILOAM SPRINGS -- Four players scored at least 14 points, and after the scored was tied at two apiece the Golden Eagles never trailed as the John Brown University men's basketball team ran away with an 83-60 win over Central Baptist (Ark.) on Saturday (Dec. 11) afternoon inside Bill George Arena.
John Brown (8-5) shot 50 percent in the first half (18-of-36) and held Mustang standout Kelvin Robinson to a 4-of-14 shooting effort, allowing the Blue and Gold to sweep the home-and-home series to remain unbeaten against CBC all-time.
After the Mustangs tied the game at two early on, a 14-2 run prompted by five points from graduate student Densier Carnes and junior DJ Ellis gave the Golden Eagles a 12-point edge, 16-4, and another 13-5 rally later in the ballooned the lead to 16, 29-13.
Junior Nemanja Obradovic and graduate student Brenton Toussaint provided four and three points, respectively, to jump-start another run as the Golden Eagles ended the final 5:13 of the first half with a 14-6 march that built a 19-point lead at the intermission.
The lead dipped back down to 12, 48-36, on a Niles Smith triple, but a pair of Carnes triples built a 10-2 rally that returned the lead back to 20, 58-38, and the difference continued to grow for the remainder of the afternoon.
In the fairly even contest in terms of rebounds (39-37), the Golden Eagles forced five more turnovers (16-11) and shot 11 more times and more efficient, knocking down 47 percent (32-of-68) from the field and 9-of-20 chances from behind the arc. The Mustangs (4-8) shot just 5-of-19 (26 percent) from long range and finished at a 37 percent clip (21-of-57), despite connecting on 13-of-15 trips to the charity stripe.
Carnes led the way with 19 points, while Ellis added 16. Junior Payton Guiot contributed 15, hitting three triples, and senior Ira Perrier scored a season-high 14 points on an incredible efficient 6-of-8 mark from the floor. He also paced the Golden Eagles with seven rebounds and five assists.
Jordan Parker's 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting off the bench wasn't enough for Central Baptist, as Mayan Kiir added 16. Robinson was limited to 13 points, while big man Justin Van Pelt added six points and a game-high 11 boards in the loss.
Now with a three-week layoff, the Golden Eagles will enjoy the holidays and take three weeks off before it jumps back into Sooner Athletic play on New Year's Day. Oklahoma Panhandle State will invade Bill George Arena on Saturday (Jan. 1) at 3:45 p.m. as JBU kicks off a three-game homestand to start 2022. The contest will stream live on the SAC Sports Network.
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