Golden Eagles hold off Lions in conference opener

SILOAM SPRINGS — John Brown squandered a 15-point halftime lead, but the Golden Eagles had enough left in the tank to remain undefeated and win their Sooner Athletic Conference opener.

JBU hit 6 of 8 free throws in the last 33 seconds to break a tie game and defeat Southwestern Assemblies of God 65-60 Thursday inside Bill George Arena.

Head coach Jason Beschta hopes the Golden Eagles (7-0, 1-0) learned some lessons along the way.

“Thankfully, we’re going to be able to learn from that without having to take an ‘L’ of what do we need to do differently and how do we need to approach that next time,” Beschta said.

JBU led 31-16 at halftime, but the Lions quickly rallied in the second half and took even took a seven-point lead, 52-45, with less than seven minutes remaining.

JBU put together its own rally, highlighted by a big offensive rebound and two free throws by Densier Carnes, a tip in by Ira Perrier and a 3-pointer in the corner from Kiree Hutchings to tie the game at 55.

“I thought that energized us right there, and I think we turned it on from that point,” Beschta said.

The game was knotted 59-59 heading into the final minute.

Luke Harper gave JBU the lead for good with a pair of free throws for a 61-59 lead with 33.1 seconds left. Harper and Densier Carnes would both split a pair at the line as JBU held a 63-60 lead with 7.2 seconds left.

After a SAGU turnover, Kiree Hutchings sealed the win for JBU with two more free throws.

Harper led JBU with 19 points, while Hutchings had 10 off the bench. Nykolas Mason led SAGU (4-1, 0-1) with 20 points, while Kentton Williams scored 12 and Joshua Kashila 10.

SOUTHWESTERN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD 69, JOHN BROWN 59

The fourth quarter belonged to the Lions, who turned a two-point lead into a double-digit advantage for most of the quarter.

Leading 39-37, SAGU outscored JBU 30-22 in the final 10 minutes to hand the Golden Eagles their fifth straight loss.

“I think our defense was really good in the fourth quarter,” SAGU coach Tiffany Phillips said. “We changed the lineup a little bit. We went a little quicker, and I think our defense was really good. I think that generated some offense for us.”

A Taylor Fergen bucket pulled JBU within 45-41, but the Lions (32, 1-0) answered with back-to-back 3-pointers from Kiara Glenn and Sydney Meader to go up 51-41. Another trey from Meador and a pair of free throws gave SAGU its biggest lead of the night at 58-45 with 3:10 left in the quarter.

Meador finished with a gamehigh 21 points with Lexi Rich scoring 17 and Glenn 13.

JBU (2-5, 0-1) was playing without seniors Jordan Martin (illness) and Sara Williams (ankle). Tarrah Stephens and Marta Matamala each had 13 to lead the Golden Eagles, while Fergen had 11 and Maddie Altman 10.

The Golden Eagles only hit 18 of 53 (34 percent) from the field, missing several at close range.

“We had a lot of opportunities, especially in the second half,” said JBU coach Jeff Soderquist. “We didn’t make shots. We missed seven free throws in the second half. We had our opportunities. Give them credit. They hit some shots in the fourth quarter.”