LITTLE ROCK -- Falling behind early, the Golden Eagles recovered before the break, but were unable to take a lead in a 57-55 loss as the John Brown University men's basketball team took its second defeat in seven days from Philander Smith (Ark.) on Wednesday night (Nov. 9) inside Mims Gymnasium.
John Brown (2-3) then responded with an 11-2 run to pull within one, 12-11, and just before halftime used consecutive buckets from senior James Beckom to tie the game at 24 apiece. The visitors then finished the first half missing its final five shots, allowing the Panthers (4-0) to retake the lead, 28-24, and for good.
Later, down by nine, junior Benjamin Agwu Eme's layup pulled the Golden Eagles within two, 53-51, with just over five minutes remaining, but three consecutive turnovers curbed the JBU comeback bid down the stretch.
"I am really proud of our overall effort and fight tonight as we battled our way to have a chance to tie or take the lead at the end," noted head coach Jason Beschta. "The last two games with Philander Smith have shown that we can grind it out with teams, and as we continue to improve in some keys areas we will give ourselves better and better chances of coming out on top. Our team has a lot better basketball ahead of us if we will continue to be hungry to learn and grow together."
Senior Payton Guiot led all players with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting in the low-scoring affair. Senior DJ Ellis added 12 points and senior James Beckom came off the bench to provide 10 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Philander Smith, behind 13 points from Raymond Reece, remained undefeated on the season. The Panthers received 10 points from Rayonte Childs and Derrick Woods as the hosts out-scored John Brown 38-18 in the paint.
Both teams shot 42 percent from the floor, but JBU attempted only four free throws and shot 30 percent from behind the arc (8-of-27).
John Brown will now travel to Tusla, Okla. on Friday night (Nov. 12) when it takes on NCAA I Oral Roberts in exhibition action. The Golden Eagles will then rest until Nov. 17 when it opens Sooner Athletic play with a matchup featuring Science & Arts (Okla.) inside Bill George Arena.
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