POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- The host Bobcats (6-3) shot lights out wire-to-wire, and the John Brown University men's basketball team suffered through a 104-85 blitzing by College of the Ozarks (Mo.) on Monday night inside Keeter Gymnasium.
Six Bobcats finished in double figures as the hosts shot 70 percent in the first half and 67 percent over the 40-minute contest (38 of 57), led by Brandt Cochran's game-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor.
A 3-pointer from senior Josh Bowling followed by a bucket down low from junior Quintin Bailey began the contest 5-0 in favor of John Brown (5-2), but College of the Ozarks responded with a 9-3 run to take the lead for good. The Bobcats could virtually not miss, hitting 21 of 30 from the field in the first half, including 6 of 9 from behind the arc.
Twelve points off the bench from Brenton Toussaint kept the Golden Eagles in contention down the stretch, but the Bobcat lead expanded to 24, twice, before the intermission.
Finally reaching a game-high 30 points, the Bobcat advantage dwindled, courtesy of 15 second-half points from sophomore Rokas Grabliauskas and another 10 from senior Jake Caudle. Whittled down to 13 with 7:13 left in the contest, College of the Ozarks responded with a 20-9 run to put the contest away for good.
Heath Carmichael and Ethan Davidson each contributed 19 points for the Bobcats, while Treydon Rackley added 17 and Klay Barton, 14. Storm Price came off the bench to add 10.
In a contest that didn't feature an abundance of rebounds, the hosts took a narrow advantage, 26-24, in the battle of the boards.
Grabliauskas finished the contest with a team-leading 17 points, hitting 4 of 6 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Caudle and Toussaint each finished with 16 apiece, as Toussaint pulled down a team-best six rebounds in the losing effort.
The Golden Eagles actually finished over 50 percent from the floor (33 of 64), but managed to sink just 9 of 28 from long range.
JBU returns to action again on Thursday at Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas). The three-game road trip continues in Waxahachie with an 8 p.m. first tip.
Sports on 11/28/2018