SILOAM SPRINGS -- Senior Noah Taylor tallied four triples and led four players in double-digit scoring with a team-high 18 points and the John Brown University men's basketball team ended a four-game skid against the Eagles with a 76-65 win over Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Thursday night (Jan. 11) inside Bill George Arena to piece together its fifth consecutive win.
The Golden Eagles (9-4, 7-1 Sooner Athletic) retain its stranglehold on second place in the conference standings, one game behind the leader, Langston (Okla.), and one game in front of Science & Arts (Okla.) and Southwestern A.G. (Texas) with 14 games remaining in league action.
Taylor shot 50 percent (7-of-14) from the floor – mostly from long range – on a night where shots in the paint for the hosts weren't falling with ease. Senior Tyren Collins poured in 7-of-13 attempts from the field to contribute 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and a block while junior Drew Miller nearly finished a double-double effort with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Sophomore Josh Stewart came off the bench to provide 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and five boards.
Collins has come on strong as of late, averaging nearly 18 points per game over his last three outings after entering the latest stretch averaging just 6.7 points a night.
After taking a while to find some rhythm in the early goings, Taylor's first triple of the night tied the game at 10 apiece nearly five minutes into the contest. Stewart's trey gave the hosts its first lead of the game until the Eagles (0-10, 0-8) again knotted the score at 14-14. Then, John Brown made its move.
Seven different players scored and the visitors shot just 2-of-7 over the final 10:44 of the half as JBU pieced together a 21-16 run to close out the first half and build a 35-30 advantage at the break. Sophomore Tristan Batie knocked down a pair of huge triples during the run.
A 16-7 John Brown run opened the second half as the lead began to grow, fueled by nine Collins points and a 3-of-12 shooting mark from Southwestern Christian, ballooning the hosts' lead to 14, 51-37. That margin would generally hold until the Golden Eagles hit a 15-point lead, 74-59, with just over 90 seconds left in the game.
After the 14-14 tie, John Brown never trailed as the hosts lead the way for 32:49 of the night.
The Golden Eagles improved to 8-1 when shooting over 40 percent. Against the Eagles, JBU hit 30-of-69 (44 percent) and out-rebounded the visitors, 42-33.
Ron Moore scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting to pace the Southwestern Christian scoring effort.
JBU will return to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 13) when the Golden Eagles travel to Oklahoma City to take on Mid-America Christian (Okla.) at 4 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center. The clash will air live, for a fee, on the SAC Sports Network.
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