BETHANY, Okla. -- In a game that featured a 59-59 tie with 2:45 left to play, the Golden Eagle defense forced the hosts to shoot 1-of-4 down the stretch and commit three turnovers, prompting the John Brown University men's basketball team to use 20 points and 10 rebounds from junior Drew Miller to secure a 66-62 win at Southwestern Christian (Okla.) inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium on Thursday evening (Feb. 22).
The Golden Eagles (15-11, 13-8 Sooner Athletic) broke a two-game road losing skid with the win and have now picked up a victory in three of its last five outings down the stretch. JBU also finished off the season sweep of the Eagles (1-22, 1-20).
Thursday's finish came down to timely scoring and defensive stops. In addition to forcing three misses of SCU's four final field goal attempts, JBU forced a trio of Eagle miscues, and sophomore Malachi Reeves netted five of his 11 points in the final 2:45 – including a midrange jumper and a 3-of-4 showing at the line. Sophomore Josh Stewart provided the other John Brown bucket from Miller with 1:48 left in the game.
"I was proud of the way we continued to battle tonight despite struggling to hit shots for the first two-thirds of the game," admitted head coach Jason Beschta. "Guys kept believing, stayed together and stepped up to hit some big shots for us to come back and do enough to win tonight.
"This group is resilient and will not go down without a fight."
Miller scored 10 points in each half, finishing 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and pouring in three triples to accompany his team-leading 10 rebounds. Freshman Trae Oetting made his second-career start and added 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Miller, Reeves, Stewart and senior Noah Taylor each dished out at least three assists, as the Golden Eagles piled up 16 helpers on 21 field goals (76 percent).
JBU faced a 10-point deficit late in the first half, but aided by a Reeves triple at the buzzer, the visitors ended the stanza on a 7-1 rally to pull within four at the intermission, 29-25.
Seven second-half triples boosted the Golden Eagles in the second half, and holding the hosts to just 8-of-25 (32 percent) over the final 20 minutes helped a 13-0 JBU run midway through the period. Building a six-point lead, 50-44, Miller went off during the run four seven points, while Oetting and Reeves connected on triples before Southwestern Christian to break the rally.
Ron Moore scored 15 points and added nine boards, while Michal Wooldridge hit 6-of-8 from the field to contribute 12 points. The duo, however, combined for 13 of SCU's 18 turnovers on the night.
Mid-America Christian (Okla.) will invade Bill George Arena on Senior Day, slated for Saturday afternoon (Feb. 24) in the Golden Eagles' regular-season finale. The teams will square up for a 3:45 p.m. tip, which will air live on the SAC Sports Network.
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