SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Despite a standout performance from senior Drew Miller, the John Brown University men's basketball team fell short in a thrilling 75-70 setback to Nelson (Texas) on Thursday night (Jan. 9) inside Bill George Arena.
Battling through eight second-half lead changes, the Golden Eagles (9-6, 7-4 Sooner Athletic) battled until the final buzzer but couldn't overcome Nelson's final push late in the contest that saw the Blue and Gold's 67-67 advantage with just over four minutes left to play fall prey to an 11-3 Lion run to finish the game.
Miller led JBU with 24 points, sinking a career-high eight triples and pulling down seven rebounds. Junior Josh Stewart started out the game hot, and finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Trae Oetting contributed 11 points in the setback.
Freshman Jack Ullom came off the bench to provide nine of John Brown's 39 rebounds.
The first half saw JBU and Nelson exchanging leads early, with the Golden Eagles scoring four of its first six buckets from long range, building a five-point cushion after a Stewart four-point play. Nelson then rattled off a 17-5 run over the next seven minutes to regain a seven-point lead, 29-22. Consecutive Miller triples finished the first half on a 16-10 JBU run, sparked by an and-one play from junior Elijah Lawrence, allowing the Blue and Gold to claw back within one at the intermission, 39-38.
The Lion lead eventually climbed to five, 55-50, before John Brown made it next move. Freshman Carter Carbonell came off the bench to provide a spark in the form of a triple and a long jumper to help jump-start a 17-9 run that included more triples from Miller and Oetting. Junior LePra George Jr. hit a bucket down low at the 4:12 mark to extend the JBU lead to three, 67-64.
Miller's triple was the only basket that the hosts were able to score down the stretch as Nelson pulled away with the win.
The Lions (11-5, 9-3) capitalized on a strong defensive effort and a balanced attack. CJ Hall scored a game-high 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting and added four assists. Micah Clark came off the bench to provide 11 points, while JJ Boling added 10 points and seven boards.
Nelson's victory was a result of winning the turnover battle, 15-9, but the Blue and Gold hung close by shooting 39 percent (15-of-39) from behind the arc. Despite the strong perimeter shooting, 15 turnovers that led to 21 Lions points was too much to overcome. The loss drops JBU into a tie for fourth place in the SAC standings.
The Golden Eagles will next complete the weekend set of contests by welcoming North Texas at Dallas to Bill George Arena on Saturday (Jan. 11) afternoon in another conference tilt. With the tipoff slated for 3:45 p.m., the game will be broadcast live on the SAC Sports Network.
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