ATCHISON, Kan. -- Facing a 13-point deficit late in the first half, the John Brown University men's basketball team made a furious rally midway through the second half, but it couldn't close a late lead in a 68-64 setback at No. 22 Benedictine College on Tuesday night at the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.
The Golden Eagles (5-4) were limited to just a 19.4 percent (6 of 31) shooting mark in the first half, which was further challenged by a 2 of 13 (15.4 percent) mark from 3-point range. The Ravens (6-1) hit 11 of 21 (52.4 percent) from the field and carried a double-digit lead into the half, 31-19.
John Brown came out much more efficient in the second half, knocking down three of its first four attempts, keeping a 36-26 margin. Senior Luke Moyer hit his first triple of the evening at the 15:51 mark and freshman Marquis Waller added a bucket with 14:04 left, both of which kept the visitors within nine points.
Senior Griffin Brady knocked down two-straight from behind the arc to force a six-point game, and after a pair of Ricky Roberts makes at the free-throw line, junior Nate Anderson hit an 18-foot jumper to close the gap to just two, 45-43, capping off a 12-4 rally over a 4:22 span.
After both teams went two minutes without scoring, Brady took over and hit a triple to pull JBU within one, 53-52, and after a steal on Benedictine's next trip down the court, Brady took a foul and hit both at the line, completing John Brown's comeback, creating a 54-53 lead.
With less than three minutes to play and down four, Roberts hit a mid-range jumper to close the gap to two, 60-58, but Benedictine caught fire from behind the arc late, knocking down three triples over the final 2:38. The Golden Eagles missed two three-point attempts in the final minute until Moyer hit a 25-foot bomb as time expired.
"Very tough first half tonight," said JBU head coach Jason Beschta. "We really put ourselves in a hole by turning it over and struggling to hit some shots, some good shots even, which isn't characteristic of this team. We battled back hard in the second half with some gritty defensive plays and finding our rhythm on the offensive end. They made some really big shots down the stretch to seal it including that three-pointer in the last minute that was well contested.
"We keep saying we are really close as we have dropped some tight games, but we need to approach the little things with more importance and treat them as big things to get us over the hump to where we need to be. We will get there."
Roberts led all scorers with 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the field. Brady added 14 points on a 3 of 4 effort from behind the arc, while Moyer shot 4 of 10 to notch 10 points while dishing out a game-high five assists. Junior Miguel Martinez came off the bench to provide five points and a team-best six boards in 15 valuable minutes.
JBU barely won the battle of the boards, 35-34, and forced the Ravens into 19 turnovers while only committing 13 of its own. By securing 13 offensive boards and a plus-6 turnover advantage, John Brown attempted 14 more field goals than the hosts (62-48), but both teams managed to convert 23 from the field.
Four players finished in double figures for the Ravens, led by C.J. Vallejo and Shawn Flemming Jr., who each posted 12 points. Adam Kutney hit 7-of-8 from the line to contribute 11 points off the bench while Christian Hatterle posted 10 points in the victory.
The Golden Eagles have now lost three straight and will look to return to the win column after an eight-day break when they welcome Wayland Baptist (Texas) at 8 p.m. on Thursday in the Sooner Athletic Conference opener at Bill George Arena.
Sports on 11/29/2015