Late Southwestern Christian rally sends men’s basketball to 77-65 setback
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Sophomore Jake Caudle hit a triple midway through the second half to pull the John Brown University men's basketball team within three, but a huge run in response by Southwestern Christian allowed the visitors to steal a 77-65 win on Thursday (Dec. 5) night inside Bill George Arena.
The loss snaps the Golden Eagles' two-game win streak. SCU has now won three straight.
Caudle's triple with 8:55 left in the game continued an 8-0 JBU run, effectively eliminating the Eagles' 11-point lead, 51-48. However, over the next 3:29, the hosts were held scoreless and Southwestern Christian pieced together a game-clinching 14-0 run.
Over the pivotal stretch, John Brown (9-5, 1-2 SAC) was limited to seven consecutive missed shots until senior Matthew Ledford's layup with 5:07 left ended the drought.
SCU (10-5, 2-1 SAC) hit all 10 free throw attempts down the stretch to squelch any attempt the hosts had at mounting a comeback.
Joshua Simmons paced the SCU effort with 20 points and nine rebounds while Marvin White followed with 19 points and four assists. Shawn Scott added 16 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Casey Cole added 12 points and three rebounds as Jamal Ray notched 10 points and seven boards, as the Eagles boasted five players in double-digit scoring.
A trio of JBU guards led the Golden Eagle scoring attack, paced by senior Zach English's 15 points. Caudle added 14 points and sophomore Brandon Joseph came off the bench to provide 10 points on three triples.
Simmons and Ray helped the visitors out-score John Brown 51-26 in the paint while SCU turned 18 Golden Eagle turnovers into 23 points.
JBU shot just 41 percent (25-of-61), but Southwestern Christian hit nearly 50 percent of its attempts (49.2), converting 30-of-61 from the floor.
The Golden Eagles boasted an early 10-2 lead to open the game, but the Eagles responded with a 17-4 run to take control of the contest for good.
John Brown will now embark on its longest road trip of the season, a four-game stretch that begins in Plainview, Texas at Wayland Baptist on Saturday (Jan. 7). Tip is slated for 3 p.m.
