John Brown University will welcome back former players of its 2005 NAIA National Championship basketball team to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the team's title run on Saturday.
After a luncheon scheduled for players, their families and staff, the current Golden Eagles will host a Sooner Athletic Conference doubleheader against St. Gregory's (Okla.) with the women tipping off at 1 p.m. and the men at 3 p.m. at Bill George Arena.
During halftime of the men's game, members of the 2005 title team will be introduced and celebrated and a commemorative video will be shown.
The 2005 squad pieced together a 24-11 season that was highlighted by a 10-2 start only to see the team drop eight of its next 12 outings. Desperately needing victories in order to qualify for an at-large berth in the NAIA Championships, JBU rallied to a five-game winning streak to end the regular season at 19-10. Unfortunately for John Brown, it couldn't beat Oklahoma Baptist for a third time that season in the conference tournament as the Bison captured the SAC tournament crown on its home court in Shawnee, Okla. The squad awaited its National Tournament fate to be decided by a national committee.
As providence would have it, JBU was selected as the 26th team into the 32-team field.
Against No. 7 Union (Tenn.), John Brown strung together a 19-2 run over the final six minutes of its Round of 32 game en route to an 84-72 upset. Not to be outdone in the Round of 16, the Golden Eagles used an Adam Workman 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to break a 56-all tie with No. 10 Louisiana State -- Shreveport to claim a 61-56 win and a place in the Exclusive Eight.
Against upstart and unranked Biola (Calif.) in the quarterfinals, JBU endured four lead changes in the second half as Brandon Cole split a pair at the line in the final moments, giving the Golden Eagles a narrow 58-56 lead. Biola would miss a would-be game-winning three at the buzzer, advancing John Brown into the Fab Four.
The national semifinals again featured a pair of unranked squads when JBU faced Carroll (Mont.). After four lead changes changed momentum constantly in the second half, Cole landed a triple with 10:35 remaining in the game to hand the Golden Eagles a 47-45 lead, an advantage JBU wouldn't surrender in a 73-60 victory.
In the national title game, John Brown faced a familiar foe in No. 9 Azusa Pacific (Calif.), a squad that JBU had bested just two years prior in the Round of 32, 70-67. APU lead for the majority of the first half until the Golden Eagles rattled off 14-consecutive points to build a 31-20 lead. Azusa Pacific would come close in the second half, but John Brown's Pat Smits hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, pushing the JBU lead back to seven with 1:12 left in the contest. The Golden Eagles would capture their first and only national title with a 65-55 victory.
After scoring a game-high 25 points, Cole was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Just a week later, Cole earned his first of two NAIA National Player of the Year accolades.
For more information on the celebration weekend, please visit JBUathletics.com.
Sports on 01/28/2015