PLAINVIEW, Texas -- Mired in an offensive funk coming out of a difficult two-point loss to Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Thursday, Feb. 4, the offensive inconsistencies continued for the John Brown men's basketball team on Saturday. Playing against the league's top offense, Wayland Baptist (Texas), didn't help either as the Golden Eagles suffered a 97-65 setback at the Hutcherson Center.
Despite finding its form in the second half, JBU (11-13, 4-8 SAC) shot just 25 percent (8-of-32) in the first half and allowed the Pioneers (14-9, 6-6 SAC) to enjoy a very quick 28-8 lead in the first half.
Sooner Athletic Conference Basketball Standings
MEN^CONFERENCE^OVERALL
^W-L^W-L
Texas Wesleyan^10-2^19-4
MACU^9-3^19-5
Oklahoma City^8-4^11-7
Science and Arts^7-5^12-8
SW Christian^7-5^11-10
SAGU^6-6^15-9
Wayland Baptist^6-6^14-9
John Brown^4-8^11-13
St. Gregory’s^2-10^7-13
Bacone^1-11^2-21
Last week
February 4
Southwestern Christian 61, John Brown 59
Mid-America Christian 78, Oklahoma City 76
Wayland Baptist 120, Bacone 93
Southwestern Assemblies of God 65, St. Gregory’s 61
Texas Wesleyan 86, Science and Arts 56
February 6
Wayland Baptist 97, John Brown 65
Oklahoma City 52, Southwestern Assemblies of God 49
Texas Wesleyan 97, Southwestern Christian 78
Mid-America Christian 84, St. Gregory’s 78
Science and Arts of Oklahoma 105, Bacone 80
This week
Thursday’s games
John Brown at Texas Wesleyan
Oklahoma City at Wayland Baptist
St. Gregory’s at Southwestern Christian
Science and Arts of Oklahoma at Mid-America Christian
Southwestern Assemblies of God at Bacone
Saturday’s games
John Brown at Southwestern Assemblies of God
Mid-America Christian at Wayland Baptist
St. Gregory’s at Science and Arts of Oklahoma
Bacone at Texas Wesleyan
Senior Griffin Brady led John Brown with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, while freshman Josh Bowling came off the bench to contribute 12 points. Nearly half of the Golden Eagle attempts came from behind the arc (31), and the Golden Eagles made nine, led by Brady's four, but finished the game just 12-of-32 from inside the arc.
Wayland Baptist, which beat JBU by just two points after trailing by as many as 13 when the teams met in Siloam Springs on Dec. 3, came out riding the hot hand of Marshall Nelson, who finished with 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting from downtown.
The Pioneers, who drilled Bacone on Thursday night with a season-high point total, 120-93, went up by as many as 26 in the first half and pulled ahead by 38 in the second.
Wayland Baptist dominated the boards, 48-37, led by Aniete Jack's seven rebounds, and Jordan Tolbert ended with six assists to lead the Pioneers, who had 21 total assists on 41 field goals. JBU was again hampered by turnovers (19) while the Pioneers gave the ball up just 13 times.
WBU finished 51.9 percent (41-of-79) from the floor and shot 57.1 percent in the opening frame to open up the big lead.
The road doesn't get any easier for John Brown, who returns to Texas on Thursday at conference-leading Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth. Tip is slated for 8 p.m. Following Thursday's game, the Golden Eagles will travel to Waxahachie, Texas, to play Southwestern Assemblies of God at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Sports on 02/10/2016