Panhandle State knocks off No. 21 John Brown

SILOAM SPRINGS — 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 crowd at Bill George Arena.

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.

“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 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, while 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.

“Caudle is an unbelievable player,” said Panhandle State coach Aaron Coombs. “That’s a first-team allleague guy who makes bigtime 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.”