OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- The John Brown University men's basketball team shot 45.5 percent and outscored host Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 44-39 in the second half, but a 12-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome as the Evangels held on for a 74-67 win Thursday inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
Down by as many as 21 in the second half, Golden Eagles (10-5, 2-1 SAC) held the Evangels to just three field goals over the final 8:46 of the contest and slowly began to chip away at the large deficit. Sophomore Zach English kicked-off a three-point barrage with 3:46 remaining, pulling JBU to within 67-52. Senior Max Hopfgartner came up with another triple from the left corner with 1:53 left and junior Brady Griffin hit a triple of his own with 70 seconds left to pull the visitors to within nine, 69-60, but MACU hit 5-of-6 chances at the line down the stretch to fend off John Brown's late-game heroics. Junior D.J. Feitl also poured in a triple with 27 ticks left on the clock.
Free throws proved pivotal as Mid-America Christian converted more chances at the stripe (15) than John Brown had opportunities (12). MACU finished 15-of-22 from the line (68.2 percent) while the Golden Eagles shot 7-of-12 (58.3 percent). Both teams shot similarly throughout the contest with the Evangels posting a 26-of-66 effort from the field (39.4 percent) and JBU landing a 25-of-67 efficiency (37.3 percent). But it was the Golden Eagles' 29.4 percent clip in the first half (10-of-34) that created a 12-point halftime deficit.
Fietl and Hopfgartner provided the majority of scoring for the visitors as the two combined for 42 points, 21 apiece. Feitl knocked down 7-of-19 chances, including a 5-of-8 mark from long range. He also provided eight rebounds and five steals. Hopfgartner shot 9-of-16 in the loss and collected six boards and a rejection. Senior Samson Olayemi recorded his second double-digit assist output of the season as he finished with seven points and 10 helpers. Junior Griffin Brady scored seven points and grabbed eight caroms, but shot only 3-of-12 from the floor.
Twenty turnovers cost the Golden Eagles to the tune of 16 points. JBU netted 11 points as a result of 14 MACU turnovers.
The difference in the contest proved to be scoring off the bench as the Evangels enjoyed a near trio of double-digit performances from its reserves. Jerrick Massenburge contributed 13 points while Jason Nwisienyi chipped in with 10 of his own. Reggie Davis played nearly three quarters of the contest off the bench and delivered nine points and seven rebounds in the win.
The MACU reservers out-scored the John Brown Bench, 32-11.
Semar Farris and Brock Hunter each tallied 12 points for the Evangels, which broke a four-game losing skid. Farris dished out a team-best four assists while Hunter collected seven rebounds in the win. Four total Evangels scored in double figures as MACU nearly edged John Brown in rebounding, 46-45.
After starting the season 10-1, the Golden Eagles have now lost four straight and are averaging 16.5 turnovers over the span. Also in its last four outings, JBU has allowed 81.5 points per game, in comparison to its staunch 69.5 points per game average in the previous 11 games.
JBU returned to action Saturday at St. Gregory's (Okla.) in Shawnee, Okla. Results were not available at presstime.
Sports on 01/11/2015