John Brown men drop fifth straight

SILOAM SPRINGS — Southwestern Assemblies of God were the aggressors offensively and defensively Saturday.

The No. 24 Lions hit 15 3-pointers on the offensive end then held JBU to a marginal shooting percentage from long range in a 81-69 men’s basketball victory at Bill George Arena.

SAGU ( 8-2, 2- 0) pulled ahead by as many as 22 points in the second half only for John Brown to close the game on a 10-0 run to make the final score closer in the end.

“I was telling my assistant (Ty Beard) that I thought that they were the offensive team on offense and defense tonight,” said JBU coach Jason Beschta.

JBU (5-6, 0-2) has now lost five straight since opening the season 5-1.

SAGU never trailed and opened up a double-digit lead on the Golden Eagles in the first half.

JBU cut the lead the single digits on a number of occasions, but each time the Lions answered with a big shot.

Guard Keyunta Watkins hit five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 24 points. Emmanuel Adoyi had three treys, and Rishaad Alexander, Tyler Pate and Micah Gentry each hit two.

“You know we haven’t shot the ball very well this year,” said SAGU head coach Donnie Bostwick, a former JBU assistant under long- time coach John Sheehy. “Obviously we shot it well the second half. When they cut it to nine, we hit a shot.”

Pate added 14 points for the Lions while Adoyi and Alexander each had 13.

Ricky Roberts led JBU with 17 points, while Jake Caudle and Luke Moyer each scored 11.

The JBU men play an exhibition game at Division I Oral Roberts on Wednesday in Tulsa. The Golden Eagles will host Ecclesia on Friday at 8 p.m.