BETHANY, Okla. -- Senior Josh Bowling scored a game-high 31 points and the No. 23 John Brown University men's basketball team posted its third win in four games as JBU held on for a 71-66 victory on Saturday afternoon inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium.
Hitting 9 of 15 from the field, 5 of 8 behind the arc and 8 of 9 at the stripe, Bowling turned in a season-best 31-point effort that included four boards, two assists and a block.
Freshman Desmond Kennedy came off the bench to add 15 points and recorded six rebounds and four assists, both career-highs in a season-high 28 minutes of work.
For the first time this season, the Golden Eagles (8-3, 3-1 Sooner Athletic Conference) overcame a halftime deficit, mostly on the shoulders of Bowling (14 points) and Kennedy (10 points) in the second half. In addition, the JBU defense stepped up to hold Southwestern Christian to 30 percent (12 of 40) from the floor and an abysmal 2 of 12 (17 percent) from behind the arc in the second half.
The Golden Eagles haven't won their first three Sooner Athletic Conference road games since the 2012-13 season, the last time JBU earned a trip to Kansas City.
The defense held SCU's leading scorer Darius Madkin, who entered the game averaging 12.7 points per game, to just four points and two turnovers. Jericho Avery, the nation's fifth-best offensive rebounder (4.2 per game) managed nine rebounds, but none off the offensive glass.
It's just the third time this season the Golden Eagles have held opponents under the 40 percent mark from the floor. The Eagles finished the contest at 39 percent (23 of 59). JBU has won all three contests.
A Bowling 3-pointer with 7 minutes left in the contest jumpstarted an 11-6 stretch for John Brown that transitioned a two-possession game into a 10-point Golden Eagle advantage. Bowling added a pair of jumpers and two from the stripe during the 3:54 stretch.
The lead dwindled quickly, however, as the visitors held a 68-66 lead with just 23 seconds left. Kennedy missed his first shot of the bonus attempt at the line but grabbed the offensive board and buried the put-back attempt. After SCU's triple response, Kennedy hit both attempts at the line to push the lead to four until the Eagles missed back-to-back triples to finish the contest.
Junior Brenton Toussaint had a strong all-around contest with seven points and a team-leading seven rebounds.
David Beasley led the SCU effort with 13 points while Patrick White came off the bench to contribute 11 points and five boards in the loss.
JBU is back in action on Dec. 17-18 in the Webber International (Fla.) Christmas Shootout in Babson Park, Fla. The Golden Eagles will play Johnson (Fla.) on Dec. 17 and Fontbonne (Mo.) on Dec. 18.
Sports on 12/12/2018