SILOAM SPRINGS -- An early nine-point deficit didn't deter the Golden Eagles in its regular season finale as the John Brown University men's basketball team road a 17-5 rally to take the lead for good midway through the first half in a 57-54 win over Texas Wesleyan on Saturday (Feb. 19) afternoon inside Bill George Arena.
For nearly the final three minutes John Brown was held scoreless as the Rams used a 9-0 run to pull within one, 55-54, but senior Luke Harper's jumped in the lane gave the Golden Eagles the three-point cushion followed by a defensive stand on the final possession vaulted JBU into fifth place in the final Sooner Athletic regular season standings.
Harper used an 8-of-8 effort from the charity stripe to lead all scorers with 20 points, and senior Ira Perrier matched a career high with 14 rebounds, allowing John Brown (18-12, 12-10 Sooner Athletic) to clinch an SAC tournament first round matchup with winless Langston (Okla.).
Both teams shot below 40 percent, but the hosts finished 11-of-13 from the line and received a much needed 14 points from its reserves – including nine points from junior DJ Ellis – as graduate student Rokas Grabliauskas also contributed nine points.
After the Rams (19-11, 12-10) took an early 12-3 lead, the John Brown defense clamped down, allowing TXWES just one field goal over its next 10 possessions and rode eight points from Harper to a 17-5 run to claim the lead, 20-17.
While the visitors did hit consecutive buckets to briefly grab the lead back, Harper hit back-to-back triples to fuel another John Brown run, this time of the 11-2 variety, and the Golden Eagles found themselves up seven, 31-24, late in the first half. The lead would eventually hold at nine at the intermission.
The Golden Eagles shot just below 40 percent behind the arc (8-of-22) and overall (19-of-49). While the Rams shot nearly the same (20-of-55) on the afternoon, Wesleyan was limited to just five triples on 15 attempts.
Davon Berry led the Rams' offensive effort with 19 points and five rebounds, while Peyton Sallee contributed 13 points. No other Ram scored more than six in the loss.
With the win, and the help of some tiebreakers, John Brown claims the fifth seed over Texas Wesleyan and Mid-America Christian (Okla.), which allows the Golden Eagles to host winless Langston (Okla.) on Tuesday (Feb. 22) evening inside Bill George Arena for the tournament's first round. The winner will travel to Plainview to face the four seed, Wayland Baptist. Start time versus Langston is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. and will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.
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