JBU men ease past Ecclesia

JOHN BROWN 94, ECCLESIA 49

SILOAM SPRINGS — The John Brown men’s basketball team got two important things out of Saturday’s nonconference 94-49 win against Ecclesia at Bill George Arena.

The first was the game gave the Golden Eagles another chance to compete in what could have been an off day. JBU was previously scheduled to play at St. Gregory’s on Saturday, but that game was canceled when St. Gregory’s announced it was closing its school.

“I think the biggest thing is it gave us another chance to compete,” said JBU coach Jason Beschta. “With a group of young players, we don’t need another day of practice, we need another day to compete. For some guys who don’t play as much or haven’t been playing that well, it was better than just having another practice.”

The second — and maybe the most important for JBU — was it got Josh Bowling going again.

Bowling, a 6-foot-6 junior, came off the bench and hit all eight of his field goal attempts, including four 3-pointers, and led JBU with 20 points.

“We needed to see Josh Bowling play well,” Beschta said.

Bowling came into the game as JBU’s second leading scorer at 11.4 points per night behind team leader Jake Caudle at 19.5. But Bowling’s offensive production has slipped as of late. Through his first 13 games, he was averaging 13.1 points and he’s dipped to just 8.6 over his last eight games.

The Golden Eagles ( 139) scored the game’s first 16 points and built up a 20-point halftime lead against the Royals (1-14), who JBU defeated 97-65 in the Toilet Paper Game on Nov. 4 to open the season. Ecclesia ........... 26 23 — 49

John Brown ....... 46 48 — 94 Ecclesia (1-14): Bagsby 15, Krueger 8, Ramirez 7, Babyar 5, Banks 4, White 4, Freeland 4, Johnson 1, Worgu 1.

John Brown (13-9): Bowling 20, Caudle 11, Carnes 9, Joksimovic 8, Corder 7, Smith 7, Toussaint 6, Waller 6, Habazin 5, Hart 5, Rucker 5, Rhodius 5.