Second-half run hands men’s basketball road win at Southwestern Christian
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 Caudleadded 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 fast-break 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 16-of-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 penalty-heavy 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 returns to action on Tuesday (Dec. 6) in McPherson, Kan. to face conference-newcomer Central Christian in an 8 p.m. tip.
