Oklahoma City ends JBU men’s winning streak
OKLAHOMA CITY — The John Brown University men’s basketball team had its three-game win streak come to an end with a 75-74 loss at Oklahoma City on Saturday evening inside Abe Lemons Arena.
The Golden Eagles led for more than 85 percent of the contest (34 minutes, 15 seconds) enjoyed the return of sophomore Nemanja Obradovic, who missed the first six games due to covid-19 protocols.
The Golden Eagles (3-4, 3-4 Sooner Athletic Conference) overcame a cold shooting effort in the first half (37 percent) to take a 32-28 lead into the intermission.
With under two minutes to play, senior Densier Carnes was fouled on a triple attempt, and connected on all three at the charity stripe to push the John Brown lead to five, 73-68, but the Stars — coached by former JBU assisant Tim Kisner — rallied on a game-end 7-1 run to close out the contest. Kisner’s position at JBU was eliminated due to university-wide budget cuts announced last spring.
Obradovic contributed 10 points and seven rebounds in his first action of the season, while Carnes posted a 20-point, sevenrebound effort before fouling out late in the contest.
Junior Luke Harper was limited to 13 points and freshman Noah Taylor came off the bench to provide 12 points on a pair of triples and a 4-of-4 effort from the foul line.
The close first half featured two ties and three lead changes, but a 4 of 13 mark behind the arc kept the Stars within striking range of the Golden Eagles.
Up 11-8 early on, a 17-6 JBU rally was ignited by five points from James Beckom and a defensive stand that held City to just six points on 15 possessions over a 6:20 span. However, Oklahoma City closed out the first half on a 14-7 run of its own as the Golden Eagles mired in a 1-of-10 shooting lull down the stretch.
Carrying a 32-28 lead into the second period, the Golden Eagles were receiving scoring from all over the place, but could only manage a four-point lead at the midway mark of the half, 5450. The teams again played tight basketball through the middle portions of the stanza, setting up the late-game dramatics.
City (1-2, 1-2) actually took a 66-63 lead, but a 6-0 John Brown run over a 76-second span vaulted the visitors back into the lead, 69-66. The Stars would then finish the contest on a late 7-1 run, stunting JBU’s three-game streak.
Kori Guest led all Stars with 17 points and eight boards, while Ryan Birt and Ellie Ghomsi each added 11 points in the win. Ghomsi added a game-best nine boards as the Stars snapped a two-game skid.
The Golden Eagles now have some time to rest, unless another makeup game is announced, as they will suit up at Central Christian (Kan.) on Friday evening inside the Ed Pyle Sports Complex. Opening tipoff is slated for 7:45 p.m. and the game will be featured on the SAC Sports Network.