SILOAM SPRINGS -- Facing a 13-point deficit shortly after halftime, the John Brown University men's basketball team used its resilience to battle back, out-scoring the visiting Mustangs 45-27 in the second half, and clawed out an impressive 81-74 win over Central Baptist (Ark.) on Saturday (Nov. 4) afternoon inside Bill George Arena to move to 2-0 on the young season.
The tale of two halves saw the Mustangs (2-1) shoot 50 percent (17-of-34) from the floor in the first half to build a 47-36 lead at the intermission. In the second stanza, the Golden Eagles (2-0) used the three ball to erase the deficit, hitting 6-of-11 (55 percent) from deep.
Four different players drained a triple and sophomore Malachi Reeves added another old-fashioned three-point play when the hosts rallied on an incredible 19-0 run after CBC scored the first bucket of the second half. Reeves, senior Noah Taylor, senior Tyren Collins and junior Drew Miller all hit triples during the run that spanned 3:06 early in the second half – turning a once 13-point deficit into a six-point lead, 55-49.
Central Baptist responded, returning to a four-point lead, but Taylor and sophomore Josh Stewart again responded with triples while Miller and Collins added buckets, spurring the Golden Eagles on an 11-3 run that saw the JBU defense hold the Mustangs to an 0-for-6 mark during the run, including four turnovers.
Now armed with another four-point lead, 66-62, the John Brown defense clamped down over the final 7:46 of the contest, holding the Mustangs to a 3-of-10 mark from the floor, while John Brown sank 13-of-18 attempts from the charity stripe to close out the back-and-fourth affair that included six ties and 12 lead changes.
Miller led the Golden Eagles with 18 points, largely on a 10-of-15 afternoon from the line, and secured seven rebounds. Reeves handed in a fantastic bounce-back effort with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Collins rounded out the double-digit scoring efforts with 13 points and five rebounds on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting effort.
Although John Brown lost the rebounding battle, 41-32, the perimeter shooting saved the Golden Eagles. CBC owned the paint to the tune of 58-30, but John Brown turned eight Mustang turnovers into 12 points while only committing seven of its own.
Deshawn Corprew's 21 points led four Mustangs in double-figure scoring in the loss. He completed the double-double with 10 rebounds.
John Brown now hits the road for four straight, beginning with an exhibition at Baylor (Texas) on Thursday (Nov. 9) morning at 11 a.m. The contest will air live on ESPN+ from Waco. JBU will then turn around to take on Evangel (Mo.) in Springfield 32 hours later.
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