JBU men pick up win at Southwestern Christian
BETHANY, Okla. — Down six midway through the first half, the John Brown University men’s basketball team went on a game-winning rally over the next stretch, aided by a season-high 18 points from junior Marquis Waller, and picked up a key 84-73 win over Southwestern Christian (Okla.) inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium on Saturday evening.
Waller’s season-high came on a 6-of-10 effort from the floor, adding six boards and three assists in the team-leading performance. Junior Jake Caudle added 13 points before fouling out while freshman Rokas Grabliauskas came off the bench to contribute 10 points on a 4-of-5 shooting afternoon.
“We played tough in a difficult atmosphere,” head coach Jason Beschta said. “Southwestern Christian did a great job of pressuring us. And while we didn’t always respond well, it gave our young guys a chance to see that level of pressure and react.
“When we were down in the
second half, it was awesome how our guys rallied and put together defensive stops and got good possessions on offense, especially the last five minutes of the game. Any win in this league is good; a road win is even better. Really proud of the guys tonight.”
Facing a 56-50 deficit with 12:52 left in the game, John Brown (5-3, 1-0 Sooner Athletic) responded with a 15-5 rally over the next 4:22, flipping the score to take a 65-61 advantage for good. Waller’s steal followed by a fastbreak layup capped off the comeback that featured 10 empty possessions for the hosts.
A Darrell Jones triple with 4:24 left maintained the six-point advantage, 74-68, while Josh Bowling’s triple from the right arc followed by sophomore Mateo Habazin’s bucket in the post pushed the lead to eight, 81-73, and with 1:36 remaining, ended SCU’s hopes of a comeback bid.
The contest was Habazin’s first as a Golden Eagle. The transfer logged 10 minutes in his first action, scoring 2-of-3 from the floor, adding three assists and a rejection.
The host Eagles (4-4, 1-1) were plagued with trouble at the line, hitting just 21-of-36 (58.3 percent) and converted just 4-of-14 attempts from behind the arc.
Casey Cole netted a game-high 21 points and added 11 assists to complete the double-double. Shawn Scott added 13 points while Fred Richardson III registered 10 in the loss.
The Golden Eagles shot
48.4 percent for the contest (30-of-62), hit eight triples and converted 16of-23 at the stripe. The visitors also enjoyed a 38-31 rebounding advantage but Christian turned 20 JBU miscues into 26 points at the other end.
Thirty-six points off the bench propelled the Golden Eagles as three players fouled out of the penaltyheavy contest. Jones’ nine points and Brenton Toussaint’s perfect 3-of-3 mark from the floor propelled JBU to its first win in Bethany since 2016.
John Brown returned to action on Tuesday in McPherson, Kan., to face conference-newcomer Central Christian in an 8 p.m. tip. Results were not available at presstime.
The Golden Eagles will be back in action at home at 5 p.m. Saturday against Oklahoma City.