Men's Basketball Breaks Skid, Seniors Leave Mark in Final Homestand
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Senior Griffin Brady piled up the points in the second half and senior Luke Moyer provided the dagger with 2.1 seconds left as the John Brown mens basketball team (12-18, 5-13 SAC) ended an eight-game losing skid with a dramatic 92-89 win over Science & Arts (Okla.) on Saturday (Feb. 27) afternoon, inside Bill George Arena.
Blocking the chance at a season-ending win, JBU had to contend with the scoring duo of Taran Buie and David Tucker from USAO. The tandem each poured in 34 points, combing for 12 triples on 26 chances. Trey after trey sank in the second half as the Drovers (15-11, 10-8 SAC) erased a 14-point first-half deficit, despite never taking the lead in the game.
The drama came to a climax with the Golden Eagles nursing a two-point lead, 89-87, with 39 seconds left after Tucker hit his eighth and final triple of the game. The offensive set didnt go as planned for the hosts, as Buie picked the pocket of Brady and scampered down the floor for a layup, knotting the score at 89 apiece.
Immediately inbounding the ball, Moyer saved his third, and last, triple of the game for the most dramatic of moments. Carrying the ball down the court, Moyer rolled around a Nate Anderson screen at the top of the right arc, and sent a prayer with three seconds left.
That prayer was answered as Moyer hit nothing but net. Shooting just 2-of-7 from the floor before the shot, Moyers splash from downtown finished off an eight-game skid to the delight of the Bill George Arena faithful.
The Drovers finished the first half on an 8-2 run, but Brady kicked off the second half with back-to-back triples to return the lead to eight, 48-40. Freshman Marquis Waller, who added 15 points off the bench, sunk consecutive triples after USAO had pulled within three, 57-54.
With just 1:28 left to play, Buie and Tucker took over and combined for a pair of triples and spearheaded a 12-2 run in just a 1:19 span before Moyer hit the game-winner.
Tucker had a chance to tie the score at the buzzer, but an off-balance attempt from downtown found iron to seal the victory.
Brady finished with a team-best 16 points and six rebounds, but was the only starter to find double figures. Instead, John Brown relied on its bench to the tune of 44 points, led by Waller and freshman Jake Caudle (11). Freshman Josh Bowling added a big nine points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and freshman Benjamin Smith collected a team-high and career-best seven rebounds in the win.
The Golden Eagles held the visiting bench to just 14 points in the win.
Picking an opportune time to start hitting shots, JBU shot a season-worst 5-of-15 from the line, but compensated by breaking the 50 percent shooting mark for the first time since Jan. 9, a win at Oklahoma City. The Golden Eagles finished 36-of-69 (52.2 percent) and drained 15-of-28 chances (53.6 percent) from bonus range. The Drovers scored 41 percent of its field goals (28-of-68) and its three-point attempts (14-of-34).
JBU held a commanding 42-33 edge on the glass, but USAO made John Brown pay for its 14 turnovers, to the tune of 21 points.
With the regular season at a close, John Brown will enter next weeks Sooner Athletic tournament with the eighth seed and will face ninth-seeded St. Gregorys (Okla.) in a rematch of Thursdays game in the tournaments opening round on Wednesday (March 2). Game times have yet to be announced.
