OKLAHOMA CITY – In a game that featured nine ties and 17 lead changes, it was the John Brown University Golden Eagles with the final stand in an 83-78 win over the No. 21-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup tonight (Jan. 28) inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
The final gridlock came when Robert Romero got inside for a bucket from Keyshawn Perkins that made it 76-76 with 2:10 remaining in the second half.
JBU finished the game though on a 7-2 run, with all seven points coming at the free throw line.
Josh Bowling started the push with two freebies to give the Golden Eagles the lead for good with 1:05 left.
With the deficit at 80-76, Olajuwon Garner drew a foul shooting a three and then proceeded to make the first two free throws before missing the third to cut the lead to two with 12 seconds left.
The Evangels still had a chance when Bowling split a pair at the line, but Garner, who had already made five threes in the game, misfired from the perimeter and then Brandon Joseph hit two at the line for JBU to put it away.
The game was tight throughout, with the largest lead for either side coming at six points when JBU held a 39-33 edge at the 2:34 mark of the opening half.
MACU then came within one as a bucket from Perkins and a three by Garner made it 39-38 at the break.
Garner led all scorers with 21 points for the Evangels (13-9, 4-6 SAC) and hit 5-of-12 from three-point distance.
Devonse Reed scored 15 for MACU, with Ex'Zavia Seaton grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
Bowling had a team-high 19 points for the Golden Eagles (13-8, 5-5 SAC) and Zach English scored 15.
Joseph had 12 points and Marquis Waller added 11 for JBU.
The Golden Eagles were bolstered by making the most of their opportunities at the free-throw line, hitting 33-of-40 from the charity stripe, compared to 9-of-15 for the Evangels.
The Evangels will now look to get back on the winning track at No. 12-ranked Texas Wesleyan University next Thursday night (Feb. 2) at 8 pm in Ft. Worth, Texas.
