SILOAM SPRINGS -- After the game's fourth and final tie with 31 seconds left, the John Brown University men's basketball team dialed up senior Luke Harper's number, and the senior responded with a game-winning three-point bucket with four seconds left, allowing the Golden Eagles to complete a 65-63 upset victory over No. 9 Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 29) inside Bill George Arena.
Back-to-back buckets from juniors Payton Guiot and Nemanja Obradovic built an eight-point lead for the Golden Eagles (15-9, 9-7 Sooner Athletic) with just 3:35 left in the contest, but Southwestern A.G. (16-5, 13-3) had one final push left in the tank.
The former SAC Player of the Year Nykolas Mason finally awoke and scored six points over the next 3:04 of the game, fueling a 10-2 Lion run that tied the game at 62 apiece, setting up a dramatic finale and the injury-riddled Golden Eagles held the final possession.
Once across the timeline, Harper held possession until the clock flashed just 10 seconds left. After losing his defender with a nifty step-back, Harper hit nothing but net to deliver John Brown it's second top-25 win of the season and its first over SAGU since Feb. 29, 2020 to break a four game skid.
Without the services of junior DJ Ellis and losing senior Ira Perrier in the first half, the Golden Eagles relied heavily on its trio of guards to generate the offense.
Graduate student Rokas Grabliauskas returned to form, converting 11-of-12 from the line to lead JBU with 16 points and seven rebounds. Guiot hit three triples and recorded six steals – a game and career high. Harper completed the evening with 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The hosts threw everything defensively at the Lions. SAGU struggled to respond through the majority of the contest, and coughed up the rock a season-worst 31 times. The 31 opponent miscues was also a season-high for John Brown.
Southwestern A.G. owned the glass against the height-disadvantaged Golden Eagles, securing a margin of 48-33 on the glass, including 14 offensive rebounds. John Brown limited the SAGU second-chance scoring to just 14 points, and even posted 12 of its own.
The Golden Eagles used a trio of Guiot triples to open the game leading 17-11. In fact, the visitors led for just 24 seconds all afternoon long, after a Joshua Kashila triple that gave the Lions a 26-24 advantage. Harper tied the game on the next possession and hit a triple on the next trip down the floor before Grabliasukas added a pair at the line to string together what would be an 11-0 run over a 2:23 pair to pull ahead, 35-26.
The teams stayed within a few possessions of each other the entirety of the second half until SAGU's closing run that setup Harper's magic with four seconds left.
Mason did draw a foul with .9 seconds left, but down three, he was forced to intentionally miss his second attempt at the line after sinking the front end. His intentional miss didn't draw iron, handing possession back to JBU with under a second left.
Kashila came off the bench and led all scorers with 19 points for the Lions. Isaiah Boling added 13 points and Masons ended up with 11 in the Lions' second straight road loss.
Between the suffocating defenses and more than a combined 50 turnovers in the contest, neither team shot over 40 percent. The Lions shot 23-of-60 from the field (38 percent), while John Brown made just 9-of-30 in the second half to finish at 36 percent (22-of-61).
With the win, the Golden Eagles pull to within one win of the top four slots in the league. SAGU gave up the league's top spot to Science & Arts (Okla.), at least for now.
John Brown will now hit the road for three straight games, beginning with its annual westward road trip. The Golden Eagles will take on Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Thursday (Feb. 3) in Plainview next, with the tip scheduled for 7:45 p.m. inside the Hutcherson Center.
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