For 30 minutes, John Brown's Jake Caudle and Panhandle State's Breiman Alexander were going back and forth knocking down shots while their respective teams traded leads.
Alexander, though, got a little more help from his supporting cast as three more Aggies scored in double figures and Panhandle State knocked off No. 21 John Brown 85-70 in front of a big Parents Weekend crowd at Bill George Arena.
Sooner Athletic Conference Basketball Standings
MEN^CONFERENCE^OVERALL
^W-L^W-L
Wayland Baptist^14-3^19-6
Oklahoma City^12-6^17-7
John Brown^12-6^18-8
Science and Arts^11-7^17-8
Langston^10-7^18-7
Panhandle State^9-8^14-9
Mid-America Christian^9-9^16-10
SW Assemblies of God^9-9^16-10
Southwestern Christian^8-10^13-13
Texas Wesleyan^7-11^12-14
Central Christian^5-12^11-13
Bacone^0-18^2-21
Last week’s results
February 5
John Brown 89, Bacone 73
Southwestern Assemblies of God 87, Texas Wesleyan 80
Oklahoma City 104, Southwestern Christian 86
Mid-America Christian 83, Science and Arts 64
February 7
John Brown 78, Wayland Baptist 75
Oklahoma City 78, Southwestern Assemblies of God 65
Panhandle State 99, Bacone 83
Mid-America Christian 81, Central Christian 78
Science and Arts 86, Langston 76
Texas Wesleyan 90, Southwestern Christian 55
February 9
Panhandle State 85, John Brown 70
Wayland Baptist 82, Bacone 75
Oklahoma City 82, Texas Wesleyan 73
Southwestern Assemblies of God 82, Southwestern Christian 59
Mid-America Christian 86, Langston 77
Science and Arts 75, Central Christian 69
This week
Tuesday’s results
Wayland Baptist at Panhandle State (n)
Central Christian at Langston (n)
Thursday’s games
John Brown at Mid-America Christian
Southwestern Assemblies of God at Central Christian
Oklahoma City at Panhandle State
Southwestern Christian at Wayland Baptist
Bacone at Science and Arts
Texas Wesleyan at Langston
Saturday’s games
Science and Arts at John Brown
Texas Wesleyan at Central Christian
Southwestern Assemblies of God at Langston
Southwestern Christian at Panhandle State
Oklahoma City at Wayland Baptist
Mid-America Christian at Bacone
Alexander, the nation's second-leading scorer at 24.4 points per game, pumped in 30 points for Panhandle State. Baris Ulker gave JBU fits inside and outside and scored 21 points, while Alan Hodge had 19 and Khallid Edwards chipped in 11 as the Aggies completed the season sweep of the Golden Eagles (18-8, 12-6 Sooner Athletic Conference).
"They're a tough matchup because they can spread the floor with a lot of guys capable of beating you one-on-one and even hitting tough shots," JBU head coach Jason Beschta said. "That makes it hard to help [defensively]. I think one of the keys against a team like this is you've got to keep great scorers like [Alexander] from hitting something easy to get going. We had just a defensive breakdown of our scheme of what we were doing that allowed him to really get going. It just makes those harder shots a lot easier once you hit a couple of easier ones and start playing with a whole lot of confidence."
JBU led 52-49 after Desmond Kennedy scored in transition with 14:01 left to play in the game.
Panhandle State (14-9, 9-8) tied it up on a 3-pointer by Hodge, who connected on four treys. Alexander, who added six 3-pointers, hit another trey to give the Aggies a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Hodge and Ulker added 3-pointers for a 61-55 lead. Caudle answered with a pair of baskets to get JBU back within 61-59, but the Golden Eagles couldn't get closer.
Panhandle State finished the game on a 24-11 run.
Caudle finished with a season-high 37 points, one shy of his career high, hitting 11 of 23 shots, including 5 of 13 from behind the 3-point line.
"Jake was great tonight," Beschta said. "He hit tough shots. I was really pleased with how he did, and I thought we found him as we should. He played like an All-American-level guy that he is. But you take Jake out of this and all of the sudden we're pretty bad from three."
Panhandle State coach Aaron Coombs said it was fun watching Caudle and Alexander go back and forth.
"Caudle is an unbelievable player," said Panhandle State coach Aaron Coombs. "That's a first-team all-league guy who makes big-time shots. Credit Brei too. Brei's been struggling a little bit. He was able to get going tonight which really helped us. John Brown's so good defensively, and you have to be able to make outside shots against John Brown, because they're so good at protecting the paint and the rim. It was good for us to see Brei get going, but John Brown's an unbelievable team, man. That's a team that I do not want to face again."
Desmond Kennedy was the only other Golden Eagle in double figures with 15. The Golden Eagles were playing without their leading scorer Josh Bowling, who sat out with an ankle injury he suffered last Thursday in the win against No. 10 Wayland Baptist.
"That's a big loss," Coombs said. "Bowling's an unbelievable player too. From our side, yes, we were fortunate Bowling was out, but it was good to see other guys step up and make plays. You know, Baris, made some big time shots, did a good job inside. Alan Hodge is playing like a senior should. My two seniors are playing like seniors should this time of the year. It was good team win. I'm proud of our guys for fighting because it's hard to come in here and win."
Beschta hopes to have Bowling back this Thursday when JBU travels to Mid-America Christian, which defeated the Golden Eagles 71-66 on Jan. 12.
"I think Josh is making good progress, and we are very hopeful he will make it back for Thursday's game," Beschta said. "We knew there was no chance for tonight (against Panhandle State)."
With four games remaining, the Golden Eagles are tied for second place in the league with Oklahoma City, which owns a tiebreaker over JBU via its season sweep.
JBU will face a Mid-America Christian team on Thursday that's won four in a row, including an 86-77 win over No. 12 Langston. The Golden Eagles will then play Science and Arts on Saturday and the Drovers are only one game behind JBU in the conference standings.
"MACU's hot, they just beat Langston," Beschta said. "They're playing really good basketball right now. They've got a lot of shooters and they can really drive you, so they're going to test us on some things. We've got to get back to doing what we do well defensively."
Panhandle State 85, John Brown 70
Panhandle State^38^47^--^85
John Brown^40^30^--^70
Panhandle State (14-9, 9-8): Alexander 30, Ulker 21, Hodge 19, Edwards 11, Whitfield 3, Ellis 1.
John Brown (18-8, 12-6): Caudle 37, Kennedy 15, Carnes 7, Grabliauskas 7, Perrier 2, Bailey 2.
Sports on 02/13/2019