LITTLE ROCK -- For the first time in program history, the John Brown men's basketball team suffered a loss to Philander Smith as the host Panthers (8-2) rode a 22-5 rally midway through the second half to blow open a 66-61 game to finish off a 96-73 win Saturday afternoon inside Mims Gymnasium.
PSC rode 20-point performances from four players. Braylon Spicer poured in a game-high 23 points while Aquill Baynard and Teviin Morris each added 22 apiece. LaDon Carter contributed multiple dunks en route to a 20-point outing.
While John Brown (10-2) posted a 48.3 percent shooting mark from the field (28-of-58), the Panthers shot an impressive 66.2 percent (43-of-65). With the loss, JBU's four-game winning streak ended as the Golden Eagles fall to 2-2 against Top-25 opposition on the season.
After John Brown took a small lead in the early going, the Panthers built a 16-8 advantage at the 12:20 mark of the first half. A pair of 3-pointers from junior D.J. Feitl, sophomore Zach English and freshman Matthew Ledford powered the visitors on a 15-6 rally to take a 23-22 lead. Both teams battled to five ties over the final 8:28 of the stanza until Carter's buzzer-beating lay-up created a three-point margin at the half in favor of the hosts, 45-42.
The second half didn't begin well for the Golden Eagles as PSC scored 12 of the first 14 points to balloon its small lead into a 12-point margin, 56-44. Finally at the 14:31 mark, senior Max Hopfgartner drilled a triple from the right arc, spurring John Brown on a 10-3 run, which featured a pair of buckets from junior Ronalds Elksnis. Having whittled the margin down to four, 63-59, Philander Smith took over and ran on a 22-5 run to pull the matchup out of reach.
For the fifth time this season, Feitl notched 20 or more points, netting an even 20 on an 8-of-14 shooting mark from the floor, including a pair of treys and a team-leading five assists. Hopfgartner added 19 points while Ledford drained a quartet of treys and finished with 12 points. Junior Griffin Brady pulled down a team-leading nine boards while Elksnis came off the bench to contribute seven points and a pair of offensive rebounds.
The Golden Eagles will return to Little Rock this weekend to take on a pair of difficult Mid-South Conference opponents in Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and the nation's No. 2 team in Campbellsville (Ky.) as part of Philander Smith's Tournament, which runs from Friday through Saturday. The Golden Eagles face Lindsey Wilson on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a Saturday game against Campbellsville on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Sports on 12/17/2014