Southwestern Assemblies of God rallies past JBU men
WAXAHACHIE, Texas — Sporting a seven-point lead at the break, the John Brown University men’s basketball team suffered a 79-74 setback inside the Sheaffer Center on Thursday night after No. 8 Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) shot 65 percent from the field in the second half.
Graduate student Densier Carnes and senior Luke Harper had 10 points in the first half. The Lions hit just nine field goals, allowing the Golden Eagles (7-3, 2-1 Sooner Athletic Conference) to take a 33-26 lead into halftime. However, the second half featured a revived SAGU offense that poured in 17 field goals, including six triples.
The 12-point lead that John Brown held late in the first half dwindled quickly in the second period as the Lions (7-1, 4-0) started on a 21-8 run that turned a seven-point deficit into a 47-41 lead for the hosts.
The Golden Eagles couldn’t recover as the lead swung by 26 points to a game-high 14-point lead late in the game as Southwestern Assemblies of God took a 69-55 lead.
Late triples from Carnes and Harper pulled the visitors within three, 77-74, but the Lions hit 7-of-8 at the free-throw line in the final minute to preserve the come-from-behind win.
Harper finished the night on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from behind the arc to lead all scorers with 28 points. Carnes hit 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and finished with 19 points, but no other Golden Eagle could contribute more than six points in the loss as JBU hoped to knock off a second straight top-25 opponent after handing No. 24 Benedictine (Kan.) a loss in Siloam Springs on Nov. 23.
Four Lions finished double-figure scoring, paced by Nykolas Mason’s 24 points. Noah Boling added 16 while Joshua Kashila posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Isaiah Boling came off the bench to contribute 12 points in the Lions’ victory.
John Brown was scheduled to play at North TexasDallas on Saturday. Results were not available at press time.
The Golden Eagles return to SAC action on Wednesday at Oklahoma City.