SILOAM SPRINGS -- Powered by five three pointers from junior Drew Miller, the Golden Eagles poured in 14 three pointers and erased an early hole in a Feb. 17 comeback win over Texas Wesleyan, 78-69, at Bill George Arena to clinch a spot in the Sooner Athletic tournament.
Miller scored a game-high 21 points, the sixth time scoring 20 in his John Brown career, and the Golden Eagles (14-11, 12-8 Sooner Athletic) improved to 7-2 this season when crossing into double-digit three-point territory.
Sophomore Malachi Reeves contributed 17 points on 3 of 5 shooting behind the arc and passed out five assists. Senior Tyren Collins made 3 of 6 from long range and finished with 11 points as did sophomore Josh Stewart.
JBU shot even better from behind the arc than inside it, netting 14 of 30 from beyond (47%). JBU finished 24 of 55 from inside (44%) and converted 89% (16 of 18) of its chances at the foul line.
The Rams took an early 7-0 lead while John Brown found its offensive footing. Then, JBU retaliated in a big way.
Using four three pointers -- including two from Collins -- John Brown used an 18-2 run over a 6:07 span to take an 18-9 lead midway through the first half. Texas Wesleyan would cut the margin to six, 22-16, but by halftime, freshman Trae Oetting and Miller, twice, connected on three pointers to balloon the JBU lead to 13 entering the second half.
Aided by hitting 14 of 15 at the stripe in the second period alone, the JBU lead would hit 18 four different times. The Rams had one final push, however, using a 17-6 rally to crawl within seven, 67-60, but a three-pointer from Reeves with 1:52 remaining returned the margin to 10, 70-60, before JBU hit all eight charity stripe attempts down the stretch.
Miller paced the John Brown rebounding effort with eight and sophomore Lukas Gabani controlled seven caroms and recorded five assists in the win.
Mathematically, the Golden Eagles are still within striking distance to clinch a home quarterfinal date in the SAC Tournament. John Brown will return to action Thursday night in Bethany, Okla., to take on Southwestern Christian at 8 p.m. The matchup will be carried on the SAC Sports Network live.