Golden Eagles Tripped Up in Plainview, Fall 84-70 at Wayland Baptist
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (January 26, 2013) - Senior guard Abel Galliguez scored a season-high 18 points, but a 17-2 run for Wayland Baptist (13-8) to open the game placed No. 4 John Brown (18-4) into too big a hole as the Golden Eagles fell 84-70 Saturday afternoon at the Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas.
At the midway point of the conference slate, John Brown's seven-game winning streak is halted and it suffers its first loss and stands at 7-1 in Sooner Athletic Conference play. Wayland Baptist returns to .500, sitting at 4-4 in SAC action.
The difference in this afternoon's contest was the Pioneers' three-point shooting efficiency, as WBU knocked down triples at a 63.2 percent clip (12-of-19), led by Reggie Fondren's perfect 7-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. Wayland Baptist nearly doubled its season average from three-point range (33.8 percent). Fondren finished with a career-high 30 points while his previous season-high was a 17-point effort against Arlington Baptist (Texas).
Guards Coleson Rakestraw and Kent High also managed double-digit totals, as Rakestraw landed four triples and converted all three attempts from the free throw line while High chipped in with 10 points and one assist. Galliguez finished tied with Rakestraw with a team-high four treys.
The Pioneers were hot at the start of the game, sinking eight of its first 15 shots as John Brown struggled to initiate its offense, turning the ball over twice while missing 10 of its first 11 attempts from the field.
Rakestraw's bucket down low at the 5:35 mark of the first half and a triple with 3:24 remaining bookended a Golden Eagles' 10-4 run, whittling the Pioneer lead down to nine, 39-30. The lead was pushed back to 11 before Max Hopfgartner's turn-around layup returned the deficit to nine. Wayland Baptist responded with a basket of its own and carried a 43-32 lead into the intermission as neither team scored a point in the final 71 seconds of the frame.
WBU shot an impressive 51.5 percent from the field in the opening stanza (17-of-33), limiting the visitors to just a 33.3 percent clip (9-of-27) as John Brown landed just three of its 13 looks from three-point range.
Turnovers would continue to plague the Golden Eagles. Two miscues and seven unsuccessful shots over the first 4:43 of the second half allowed the Pioneers to rebuild its lead back to 16, 52-36. Finally back-to-back triples from Galliguez and E.J. McWoods brought the host lead back to 10, 52-42, before John Brown entered single-digit deficit territory when Rakestraw's three-pointer fell at the 9:19 mark.
Rakestraw continued his hot distance shooting, notching another trey to bring the score to within five, 62-57, but Wayland Baptist responded with an 8-3 run, retaking the double-digit advantage. The Golden Eagles would only return the host lead to single digits one more time as the Pioneers ran away with the 14-point victory, 84-70.
WBU lead the entire game while shooting a lights-out 53.2 percent (33-of-62) and forced John Brown to rely on the three-point play which wasn't falling. The Golden Eagles shot just 35.3 percent (12-of-34) from beyond the arc, including a 9-of-21 effort in the second stanza.
The Pioneers outrebounded JBU, 39-30, and the John Brown bench outscored the hosts, 20-9.
The Golden Eagles will look to return to its winning ways in the second half of the conference schedule when it hosts Science and Arts (Okla.) (10-6, 3-5 SAC) on Thursday, Jan. 31, at Bill George Arena. John Brown is 1-0 against the Drovers this season, scoring a 68-58 victory in Chickasha on Jan. 8 over the then-No. 9 USAO squad. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m.
