FT. WORTH, Texas -- The John Brown University men's basketball team avoided consecutive losses by out-scoring the Rams 7-4 in overtime to claim a 72-69 win over Texas Wesleyan on Thursday night (Jan. 18) inside the Sid Richardson Center, ending a four-game losing skid in Fort Worth in the process.
The Golden Eagles (10-5, 8-2 Sooner Athletic), despite allowing a regulation-ending 9-2 run to send the game to overtime, held Texas Wesleyan to just 1-of-6 from the floor in the extra session while leaning on buckets from senior Tyren Collins and sophomore Lukas Gabani. Junior Drew Miller and sophomore Malachi Reeves combined to convert 3-of-6 from the stripe down the stretch to ice the contest that featured nine lead changes and seven ties.
John Brown improved to 3-0 in overtime contests this season, all on the road.
"Tonight is a big win against a good team," head coach Jason Beschta admitted after John Brown remained in sole possession of second place in the Sooner Athletic standings with the win. "Whether we win or lose games, our guys just keep fighting and believing together. It has been fun to see different guys step up for our team on different nights.
"We've been able to watch multiple guys continue to develop and get better and make big plays. That's something that makes this team special is their commitment to the process of getting better every day. Every win in this league is a big deal so we will continue to celebrate each one that we're able to get and continue pushing to get better for the next one."
Miller recorded his second 20-point outing of the season by hitting 7-of-14 overall from the field, including three triples and a 3-of-6 mark from the charity stripe. Collins continued his second-semester scoring tear, adding 19 points, 10 rebounds and four triples. Gabani finished with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds that helped the visitors to a major 41-25 rebounding advantage over the Rams.
Both JBU big men contributed double-doubles – both securing their second such performances, respectively.
Despite the lack of ball control – the teams combined for 37 turnovers – John Brown shot well, converting at a 45 percent clip (26-of-58), but could have avoided overtime by a more efficient performance at the line (12-of-21). Regardless, JBU improved to an improbable 4-1 on the year when committing at least 15 turnovers, but also bettered its mark to 8-1 when shooting at least 40 percent.
Adetokunbo Bakare accounted for nearly 40 percent of the TXWES offensive output, scoring a game-best 27 points on a 10-of-10 effort at the line. Isaiah Marin (13) and Kristian Lafayette (10) each finished in double-figure scoring for the Rams, which suffered its fourth-straight loss.
Winners in six of seven inside the friendly confines of Bill George Arena, JBU next welcomes Science & Arts (Okla.) to Siloam Springs for a matinee showdown on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 20) at 3:45 p.m. The Alumni Weekend contest will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.
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