BETHANY, Okla. -- The Golden Eagles were limited to 31 percent shooting from the floor as the John Brown University men's basketball team dropped its regular season finale, 74-59, at Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 18) inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium.
The loss, coupled with a North Texas at Dallas win versus Central Christian (Kan.), relegates the Golden Eagles (12-16, 10-12 Sooner Athletic) to the eighth seed in the Sooner Athletic tournament. This pairs John Brown with the top seed, Langston (Okla.) – the No. 5 team in the nation – in the quarterfinals on Thursday night (Feb. 23) in Langston.
JBU held a narrow lead midway through the first half when the offense stalled. The visitors fell into a 2-of-17 shooting slump that allowed the Eagles (11-14, 9-13) to finish the half on a 21-7 run and a 41-28 lead at the half that the hosts maintained through the entirety of the second half.
"On a night where we did some things really well, we really struggled to knock down shots and that has not been characteristic of us lately," head coach Jason Beschta admitted. "This was a tough stretch of seven games in 15 days, and I think the wear and tear of that schedule showed tonight.
"This doesn't change the fact that we have been playing our best basketball the last few weeks and I love where this team is at right now. Teams want to be playing the best basketball at the end of the year and that's what we've been doing. Now we have the opportunity to keep that going in the conference tournament."
Both team shot nearly 40 percent in the second half, but SCU's 68 percent shooting (17-of-25) provided more than enough cushion in the level second stanza.
Senior DJ Ellis hit four triples and finished with 14 points and four assists. Senior Payton Guiot added a trio of treys, producing 11 points to accompany five steals and three assists.
Four Eagles scored in double figures, led by Bralen Patterson's 16 points. Ronald Moore Jr. flirted with a double-double by posting 11 points and nine rebounds. SCU dominated scoring in the paint to the tune of 40-18.
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