SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- The John Brown University men's basketball team secured a comeback victory over Webber International (Fla.), 95-91, on Saturday night at Bill George Arena in the first day of the Golden Eagle Invitational.
Behind a 62 percent second-half shooting effort (18-of-29) and 17 triples, JBU overcame a 16-point first-half deficit to notch its second win of the season.
Senior Drew Miller led the Golden Eagles (2-1) with a game-high 24 points, hitting 9-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. Junior LePra George added 18 points, along with seven assists and five rebounds. Elijah Lawrence contributed 13 points off the bench, shooting 4-of-8 with a trio of three-pointers, while sophomore Trae Oetting rounded out the double-digit scorers with 17 points and 5 rebounds.
JBU shot 53 percent from the field (31-of-59), including 49 percent from three-point range (17-of-35). At the free-throw line, the Golden Eagles converted two-thirds of its attempts (16-of-24). The Warriors (1-3) finished the game shooting 52 percent from the field (31-of-60) and 48 percent from three (13-of-27), while converting 84 percent of its free throws (16-of-19). JBU narrowly led in rebounds, 34-28, and recorded 10 turnovers to Webber's 11.
Webber International dominated early, taking a 56-40 lead into halftime, but the hosts responded with a run to open the second half.
Behind 13 points from Oetting, the Golden Eagles shot 10-of-14 to begin the second period and rallied on a 29-13 run to tie the game at 69 apiece. Miller's triple with 5:49 remining, followed by another hoop from George, handed JBU the six-point lead, 85-79, and for good. Both teams shot poorly down the stretch, but WIU was limited to 2-of-6 from the field over the final four minutes as John Brown out-scored the visitors by a 55-35 margin in the second half.
For Webber International, Orlando Thomas paced his team with 23 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, followed by Jerry Carraway Jr.'s 18 points. WIU dominated the paint, 47-26.
The Golden Eagles return to action at Bill George Arena to face Florida College on the second day of the invitational on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Fans can catch the game live on the SAC Sports Network.
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