SILOAM SPRINGS -- Senior James Beckom scored a team-high 15 points, including a thunderous dunk in transition, and the Golden Eagles used a game-ending 12-3 run to earn a 70-67 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Thursday night (Feb. 9) inside Bill George Arena.
The emergence of the double-double machines struck again, as Beckom added 11 rebounds, while freshman Lukas Gabani fought off foul trouble to end the evening with 11 points and 12 rebounds, as the pair largely powered the John Brown (9-15, 7-11 Sooner Athletic) rebounding effort that provided a 10-carom margin, 41-31.
James shows the nation's leading scorer that he knows how to do a little scoring of his own! 😳
Posted by John Brown University Athletics on Thursday, February 9, 2023
Down 64-58 with under three minutes to play, the Golden Eagles began working its way to the charity stripe. Gabani split his trip, while freshman Malachi Reeves converted both of his chances. After a stop, JBU used a Gabani bucket in the paint to continue the 5-0 run and pull within one, 64-63.
The nation's leading scorer, Rayquan Elliott hit a pair at the line to return the margin to three, but with a waning shot clock, senior Payton Guiot earned a trip to the line, where he buried both. Elliott followed up with splitting a crucial pair of free throws on the next possession, giving JBU the ball, down two, with 33 seconds left.
Out of the timeout, Guiot struck for his fourth triple of the game off the glass, and the Golden Eagles secured its first lead since the 15:02 mark of the first half.
Elliott, after the inbounds and during a handoff, was stripped of the ball by Beckom who raced down the court and earned a foul with four seconds left. After hitting both, it was John Brown's lead, 70-67, with four seconds left.
Despite the long pass from under their own basket, Panhandle State still had a chance to tie the game when the ball found Elliott at the right arc, but the nation's top scorer wasn't able to complete the clutch shot, sending the Golden Eagles to a second-straight win.
Guiot came off the bench and finished with 14 points, while freshman Josh Stewart handed in an efficient outing, hitting 4-of-5 from the floor to contribute nine.
Elliot finished one point shy of his 30-point average by scoring 23 in the second half. Kaleb Stephens added seven rebounds in the loss for the Aggies (2-23, 1-18).
The John Brown homestand continues on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11) when the Golden Eagles welcome the nation's hottest team – Wayland Baptist (Texas), winners of 13 straight – to Bill George Arena for a 3:45 p.m. contest. The SAC Sports Network will carry the game live.
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