PLAINVIEW, Texas -- John Brown University men's basketball surged back from a 17-point deficit, but couldn't close the gap in a 75-62 loss at Wayland Baptist (Texas) Saturday afternoon (Feb. 3) inside the Hutcherson Center.
The Golden Eagles (12-9, 10-6 Sooner Athletic) rode five points from junior Drew Miller, including a run-ending triple, in the second half to whittle down a 17-point deficit into a three-possession game, 61-52, but the visitors finished the final 7:31 of the contest just 3-of-13 from the field, but the Pioneers (16-6, 11-5) dominated the paint 46-26 and shot 53 percent from the floor to pull away down the stretch.
Sophomore Malachi Reeves, who buried the last-second triple in the first meeting of the season between the teams in Siloam Springs to vault JBU to an upset win, led the visitors in scoring with 15 points and five assists. Senior Tyren Collins produced 14 points, while sophomore Josh Stewart provided a spark off the bench by netting 10 on an efficient 4-of-9 shooting effort.
As a team, the Golden Eagles were limited to 36 percent (24-of-67) from the floor, and just 21 percent from long range.
"Tough one today for us against a very good Wayland Baptist team," head coach Jason Beschta admitted. "They were able to really score consistently, and while we did a lot of good things on offense – we just missed a lot of shots today.
"I loved seeing us take better care of the ball than we have recently, and we showed a lot of fight and never gave up. I love this group and am proud of them, and we will regroup and come back committed to getting better next week."
John Brown committed just seven miscues on the afternoon, tying a season-best effort.
D'Michael Bellfield proved unstoppable for the hosts, hitting all 11 field goals attempted to finish with a game-high 22 points. Meikkel Murray tallied 16, and Tahjae Hill poured in three triples to finish with 15 points. Quentin Coleman added 14 points to round out the balanced Pioneer scoring effort.
Reeves and Miller hit consecutive layups as John Brown owned and early one-point lead, 12-11, just over five minutes into the contest. Freshman Trae Oetting hit a triple to bump the visitor advantage to four, 17-13, and then after four quick lead changes, the Pioneers ended the first 20 minutes on a 12-3 run that saw the Golden Eagles fall cold offensively, converting on just 1-of-13 in the final 8:33 of the half.
Wayland scored on 10 of its next 15 shots to open the second half, cementing a 22-13 run and enjoyed a game-high 17-point lead with 12:23 left in the game.
The Golden Eagles return to Siloam Springs on Thursday night (Feb. 8) to welcome North Texas at Dallas to Bill George Arena in what will be back-to-back home games. The game will be broadcasted live on the SAC Sports Network, with the tip set for 7:45 p.m.
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