GOODWELL, Okla. -- After a four-point lead with under a minute to play evaporated, the John Brown University men's basketball squad out-scored Oklahoma Panhandle State 15-10 in overtime to earn a 78-73 road win inside the Anchor D Arena on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 7).
Senior DJ Ellis scored 15 points and dished out five assists, while senior Tyren Collins added 14 points on a perfect shooting effort – 5-of-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 at the line.
Junior Benjamin Agwu Eme's layup with 56 seconds left in the contest handed John Brown a 63-59 lead, but the league's leading scorer – Rayquan Elliot – converted a pair at the line and hit a game-tying layup all in the final minute to force overtime.
Although the Aggies (2-13, 1-8 Sooner Athletic) scored the first points of overtime, sophomore Latrell Maitland's trip to the line yielded two points and later Ellis' triple gave John Brown (4-11, 2-7) the lead for good as Panhandle State shot just 4-of-10 from the floor in the extra period.
Ellis scored seven of his 15 in overtime, while Collins chipped in with four.
"I am so proud of the way we fight tonight after a little bit of a slow start," admitted head coach Jason Beschta. "We played and got significant contributions from so many guys tonight to gut this one out. I thought our posts did a phenomenal job defending the paint in the second half and overtime and as a team, we rebounded very well.
"We showed a high level of toughness coming up with big plays on both ends when we needed them most. We have been in so many close games this year that we just needed to see ourselves finish one out like we did tonight. This team has a lot of fight left in them and I'm excited about the weeks ahead."
In breaking the former five-game losing skid, John Brown shot 48 percent (27-of-56) from the floor and out-rebounded OPSU by a 41-32 margin, turning 15 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points.
Elliot – the SAC's top scorer – entered the game averaging nearly 35 points a game and was held to 26 points on 9-of-26 shooting.
JBU needed the bench to show out, and it did, as the visitors enjoyed a season-high eight points from Awgu Eme, and seven each from freshman Josh Stewart and Maitland. The John Brown reserves out-scored the OPSU bench by a 31-17 margin.
The bounce-back effort now advances to Thursday night (Jan. 12) when the Golden Eagles face off with Mid-America Christian (Okla.) inside the Gaulke Activity Center. The 7:45 p.m. scheduled tip will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.
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