SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- With a berth in the 2025-26 Sooner Athletic Championships on the line, the John Brown University Golden Eagles welcomed Southwestern Christian University to Bill George Arena on Thursday night.
Four JBU Golden Eagles reached double figures as JBU (11-16, 8-13 SAC) led nearly wire-to-wire, and they cruised to the win over SCU (7-19, 5-16 SAC), 90-68.
JBU opened the game with the first six points, and they eventually ran that run all the way to 15-4 in the first 5:38 of play. Five different Golden Eagles scored during that stretch, and the JBU offense was off and running. The JBU attack was lethal in the opening 20 minutes, as the Golden Eagles made better than 54% (17-32) of their shots overall, and nearly 55% (6-11) from long range. The Golden Eagles were also 3-for-3 from the foul line in the opening stanza, and they controlled the glass to the tune of a 21-13 edge. All that dominance added up to a halftime lead of 43-31, and intermission did little to slow the momentum.
JBU made another 17 shots in the second half, though they were a tick below the break-even point in the second half at 17-for-25 (48.6%). As the half wore on, the Golden Eagles continued to push the margin as well. The JBU lead reached 20 for the first time just more than two minutes into the second frame, and it swelled all the way to 29 points when Josh Stewart buried a 3-pointer with 8:25 remaining in the game to make the score 74-45. JBU never led by fewer than 21 points in the final eight minutes of play, and the Golden Eagles punched their ticket to the SAC Championships with the 90-68 win.
For the game, JBU was 34-for-67 (50.7%) shooting including 11 of 26 (42.3%) from long distance. They made only 11 of 18 (61.1%) free throws, but the Golden Eagles out-rebounded SCU 48-28 and dominated in the paint (49-31) and on second chances (17-9). JBU's bench also outscored the SCU reserves 42-20, and JBU had all 14 of the game's points on the fast break.
Trae Oetting led the JBU offense with 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting. He also made five of seven attempts from distance, and he was joined in double figures by three of his teammates. Marki Malekinusic scored 15 points and made five of his 10 shots, Carter Carbonell tallied 11, and Jack Ullom chipped in 10. Malekinusic led the way for JBU with seven rebounds, and LePra George doled out a team-best four assists in the win.
JBU will wrap up their 2025-26 home schedule on Saturday when they host the Oklahoma City University Stars (18-9, 15-6 SAC) for Senior Day. The game is slated to tip off at 4 p.m.
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