SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Senior Marko Malekinusic's putback just 59 seconds into Saturday night's (Oct. 24) season opener sent the toilet paper flying, but the John Brown University men's basketball team quickly made defense the main attraction, forcing 31 turnovers and riding a pair of 12-0 first-half runs to a 107-58 victory over Ecclesia (Ark.) inside Bill George Arena.
The Golden Eagles (1-0) collected 17 steals, turned the Royals' miscues into 35 points and built a commanding 52-20 halftime advantage in the annual World-Famous Toilet Paper Game. The victory marked JBU's 25th win in the event since 2000 and extended its unbeaten all-time series against Ecclesia (0-1) to 22 meetings.
Sophomore Fred Rogers III paced the balanced offensive effort with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, adding five rebounds in just 14 minutes. Sophomore Jack Ullom recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards, including five on the offensive glass, while sophomore Ma'aiki Dauda supplied 12 points in only nine minutes off the bench, finishing 4-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 at the stripe.
Senior Jay Baxter filled the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds, five steals, three rejections and three assists, while junior Patrick Odingo added nine points and three takeaways. Junior Raziel Taylor dished out a team-high four assists as 14 different Golden Eagles entered the scoring column, with the JBU reserves accounting for 62 points.
John Brown raced to a 15-3 advantage before the visitors briefly cut the deficit to six on a Chance Rogers triple with 12:13 remaining in the opening half. Ullom answered with a three-point play to ignite a 12-0 run, with six different Golden Eagles contributing to the surge. Freshmen Samuel Hinsey and Nicolás Serra capped the burst with consecutive buckets in transition, pushing the Blue and Gold ahead 27-9 at the 9:18 mark.
The Royals managed to trim the margin to 20 late in the half, 40-20, on a pair of Lucas Figures free throws with 3:23 remaining, but those would be Ecclesia's final points before intermission. JBU closed the period on another 12-0 run, with Ullom supplying six points on three buckets while Serra, Malekinusic and Taylor also contributed to the closing stretch.
The Golden Eagles limited Ecclesia to just six first-half field goals on 26 attempts (23.1 percent), while forcing 15 turnovers and holding a 30-20 advantage on the glass through the opening 20 minutes.
The Blue and Gold maintained the pressure after the break, pushing its advantage past 40 points on a pair of free throws from senior Trae Oetting with 14:07 remaining. JBU later used a 10-2 run, highlighted by consecutive triples from Oetting and Malekinusic, to extend the margin to 82-33 with 11:12 to play.
Senior Judah Simfukwe eventually provided the bucket that gave the hosts their largest advantage of the night, 88-37, with 9:30 remaining.
Ecclesia's Jordan Abram briefly interrupted the rout with eight consecutive points, including back-to-back triples, before sophomore Maliq Sosa ended the surge with a second-chance bucket at the 8:05 mark. The Golden Eagles continued to work its reserves into the rotation, with sophomore Braxton Scott pushing the Blue and Gold into triple digits on a basket in the paint with 3:36 remaining.
All 16 Golden Eagles saw the floor as John Brown closed out the 49-point victory.
Although Ecclesia improved its shooting to 33.3 percent in the second half and scored 38 points after the break, John Brown answered with 55 of its own to maintain control.
The Golden Eagles dominated the extra-possession battle, pulling down 27 offensive rebounds to just 13 for the visitors and attempting 36 more field goals (92-56). JBU finished with a 57-44 rebounding advantage, outscored Ecclesia 88-24 in the paint and produced 22 second-chance points. The hosts also held a 35-7 edge in points off turnovers while committing just 10 giveaways themselves.
Despite connecting on just five of its 32 attempts from downtown, John Brown shot 44.6 percent overall (41-of-92) and held the Royals to 28.6 percent (16-of-56).
Jordan Abram led Ecclesia with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including four triples, while Collin Lockhart added six points.
"What a special environment. If you can't get up for a game like this, you probably shouldn't be playing," head coach Jason Beschta said. "It's not just about our team. It's a campus event and a community event, and I love the way everyone embraces it and continues to make it special year after year."
Beschta also pointed to the opportunity to explore a more aggressive style with a roster featuring several new faces.
"We felt like this could be a really fun style that allows us to get up and down the floor," Beschta added. "We're not trying to rush shots or play recklessly. We want to play smart, good basketball together while still being aggressive and attacking."
"I also loved having the opportunity to get a lot of guys on the floor and work through some of those early jitters. We have so many new players, and for some of them, this was their first game here or even their first college game. I thought we handled that really well. We played extremely hard, were very unselfish and kept the pressure, intensity and energy going throughout."
John Brown returns to action Friday afternoon (Oct. 30) when the Golden Eagles travel to Wichita, Kan., for the Jack Kater Classic. The Blue and Gold opens the two-game event against Ottawa (Kan.) at 5 p.m. inside the Garvey Center before facing host Friends (Kan.) on Saturday (Oct. 31) at 3 p.m.
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