Golden Eagles defeated by Philander Smith once again
LITTLE ROCK — Falling behind early, the John Brown men’s basketball team recovered before the break but was unable to take a lead in a 57-55 loss at Philander Smith on Wednesday, Nov. 9, inside Mims Gymnasium — the Golden Eagles’ second defeat to the Panthers in a seven-day span.
The Golden Eagles lost at home to Philander Smith 79-76 in overtime on Nov. 3.
On Wednesday, John Brown (2-3) went on an 11-2 run to pull within one, 12-11, and just before halftime used consecutive buckets from senior James Beckom to tie the game at 24 apiece. The visitors then finished the first half missing their final five shots, allowing the Panthers (4-0) to retake the lead, 28-24, and for good.
Later, down by nine, junior Benjamin Agwu Eme’s layup pulled the Golden Eagles within two, 53-51, with just over five minutes remaining, but three consecutive turnovers curbed the JBU comeback bid down the stretch.
“I am really proud of our overall effort and fight tonight as we battled our way to have a chance to tie or take the lead at the end,” said head coach Jason Beschta. “The last two games with Philander Smith have shown that we can grind it out with teams, and as we continue to improve in some key areas we will give ourselves better and better chances of coming out on top. Our team has a lot better basketball ahead of us if we will continue to be hungry to learn and grow together.”
Senior Payton Guiot led all players with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting in the low-scoring affair. Senior DJ Ellis added 12 points and senior James Beckom came off the bench to provide 10 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Philander Smith, behind 13 points from Raymond Reece, remained undefeated on the season. The Panthers received 10 points from Rayonte Childs and Derrick Woods as the hosts outscored John Brown 38-18 in the paint.
Both teams shot 42 percent from the floor, but JBU attempted only four free throws and shot 30 percent from behind the arc (8-of-27).
Oral Roberts 95, John Brown 62
John Brown trailed Oral Roberts 39-35 at halftime, but ORU outscored the Golden Eagles 56-27 in the second half of an exhibition game Friday, Nov. 11, at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla.
Payton Guiot led JBU with 18 points, while D.J. Ellis had 15 and Tyren Collins 10.
Connor Vanover and Issac McBridge each had 19 points to lead Oral Roberts, while Max Abmas had 18, Carlos Jurgens 13 and Kareem Thompson 11.
Up next
John Brown is back at home Thursday, Nov. 17, when it hosts Science and Arts (Okla.) to open Sooner Athletic Conference play.