University of North Texas at Dallas guard Tariq Aman hit a fallaway jump shot with 1.1 seconds left to lift the Trailblazers to a 61-59 win over John Brown's men on Monday, Dec. 12, inside Bill George Arena.
John Brown had to go the length of the floor in the remaining 1.1 seconds and the Golden Eagles turned the ball over as time expired in a game that both teams blow leads down the stretch.
John Brown led by as many as 12 points on several occasions in the second and the Golden Eagles pulled ahead 50-40 with 8 minutes, 17 seconds remaining after a bucket by D.J. Ellis.
John Brown went scoreless over the next 5:18, and UNT-Dallas took advantage.
The Trailblazers went on a 16-0 run to grab their own lead 56-50 and led by as many as six at 58-52.
John Brown got a three-point play from Malachi Reeves to get within 58-55 with 1:31 left and James Beckom scored with a 53.2 seconds to pull within 58-57.
After Jules Moor hit one of two free throws for UNT-Dallas, the Trailblazers led 59-57 with 28.4 seconds left.
Reeves knocked down two free throws with 14.8 left to tie the game at 59, and giving the ball back to UNT-Dallas and setting up Aman's heroics.
"That young fellow works on his game every day," said UNT-Dallas coach Joshua Howard, a former NBA All-Star with the Dallas Mavericks, who also played with the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves. "With (Aman) being undersized, he finds ways to score the ball. It was a play I drew up. I figured if they were going to switch off on him, the lob would have been there. If not, he would have had a one-on-one with someone."
Aman finished with 11 points off the bench.
Jules Moor, a transfer from Stephen F. Austin, poured in 27 points to lead the Trailblazers (7-4, 5-2 Sooner Athletic Conference)
"It's a blessing to have kids that want to play for me," Howard said. "Finding him was like finding a diamond in the rough, great young man. He just wants to win and he's bringing that attitude to the players."
The Trailblazers hit 23 of 51 shots from the field and only 1 of 14 from behind the 3-point line.
UNT-Dallas had been averaging 93.2 points per game in its last five games, including a pair of games with more than 100 points.
"I think we're guarding," said JBU coach Jason Beschta. "Look at what we did to a team that's averaging nearly 100 points per game and is getting crazy points on everybody. We controlled the tempo and we've done that against a lot of teams. So in those games, they're going to become possession games down the stretch, and we've just got to be so good about how we value the basketball so that we don't give those easy buckets, because we can defend pretty well in the half court."
John Brown hit 24 of 49 shots from the field and 5 of 15 from behind the 3-point line.
Reeves led the Golden Eagles (3-10, 1-6) with 15 points, while Beckom and Lukas Gabani each had eight and Ellis and Tyren Collins each with six.
"I just think that if we keep believing and keep putting things together then we have the pieces," Beschta said of JBU, who played without star guard Payton Guiot, who missed his fifth straight game. "If we can get all our pieces back, we just need a game or two to get the confidence going. This team can roll. It really could."
John Brown is now off until Jan. 5, 2023 when it travels to Wayland Baptist (Texas).
"It's going to be a challenge," Beschta said. "We already joke about the fact that in games as coaches, a lot of our outcomes are decided by 18 to 22 year olds. Now we're going to be coming back second semester and it is going to be determined by maturity of 18 to 22 year olds when they're not having anybody else around to do what they need to do to be in shape."
SW Assem. of God 76,
John Brown 70
Despite rallying from 12 down to hold a four-point lead with 26 seconds left in regulation, the Golden Eagles gave up a pair of late triples before falling in overtime as the John Brown University men's basketball team absorbed a 76-70 loss to Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 10) inside Bill George Arena.
Junior Noah Taylor came off the bench to provide a game-high 17 points on four triples and a perfect 5-of-5 effort from the charity stripe, and the Golden Eagles rebounded with a 50 percent (12-of-24) shooting effort in the second half to eliminate a 12-point halftime deficit.
Out of the intermission, John Brown scored 13 of the first 17 points in the second half on eight points from freshman Lukas Gabani to pull within three, 39-36. Later, down six with just under eight minutes remaining, Taylor and freshman Malachi Reeves connected on consecutive triples to tie the game at 45, completing the 12-point comeback effort.
SAGU (8-4, 4-0) later held a 53-50 advantage with under 2:00 remaining, but a quick 7-0 rally powered by a Gabani bucket followed by senior DJ Ellis pouring in a huge triple with 51 seconds left gave JBU a four-point edge following a pair of Ellis conversions at the line, 57-53. Improbably, Brooks Haddock hit a triple on the next possession and, after another successful free throw from Ellis, hit a second trey despite the Lions being in the bonus to force overtime.
In the extra period, JBU went cold, shooting 2-of-8 from the floor, while SAGU converted on half its six attempts and finished 10-of-11 from the line in overtime.
Ellis and Gabani each finished with 12 points apiece – Ellis also with six assists and Gabani six rebounds – while senior Tyren Collins contributed 10 points. Senior James Beckom chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds.
Five Lions finished in double-figure scoring, paced by Noah Boling's 17 – ten of which came at the charity stripe. Cortland Blake produced 15 points and six boards, while Haddock added 14 points. Philbert Weekes scored all 12 of his points in the first half, and Tyler Kinghorn scored 11 as the Lions remain unbeaten in Sooner Athletic play.
Oklahoma City 69,
John Brown 65
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Senior DJ Ellis scored a game-high 22 points, tying a career high, spurring on a Golden Eagle comeback in the late stages, but Oklahoma City held on to hand the John Brown University men's basketball team a 69-65 defeat on Tuesday night (Dec. 7) inside Abe Lemons Arena.
Down 16 with just under eight minutes left in the contest, the Golden Eagles turned to the three ball, draining 6-of-13 down the stretch courtesy of triples from four players including two each from Ellis and freshman Malachi Reeves, to pull within two points, 65-63. But a couple of missed shots and the Stars (5-6, 3-2) converting at the free throw line ended the JBU comeback bid just short.
After a slow offensive start in the first period, Ellis scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and the visitors improved to 44 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes while owning a 10-rebound advantage on the glass.
"I could not be more proud of the way our team fought in the second half tonight," head coach Jason Beschta said. "We never gave up, we rallied together and played with such energy and enthusiasm and toughness that we gave ourselves a chance down the stretch.
"Some guys really stepped up tonight, whether it be with hitting a big shot or grabbing a rebound or getting a key stop on the fence and, if this is going to be the identity of this team, we should all be excited going forward about how good we can become."
Reeves scored 11 of his 13 in the second half, converting on three triples, and added seven rebounds. Senior Tyren Collins contributed 10 points, while freshman Lukas Gabani pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
Brandon Jackson's 20 points paced the Stars on offense while Kori Guest added 15 points. Avery Jackson chipped in with 10 to round out City's three double-digit scoring efforts.
-- JBU Sports Information contributed to this story.