OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian men's basketball team battled back from a double-digit deficit to John Brown in the second half to send the game to overtime, but the Evangels fell just short in the extra session by a score of 87-83 inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Kendall Scott – 19 Points, 5-11 FG, 9-15 FT, 14 Reb
• Terrance Jones – 15 Points, 6-12 FG, 3-4 FT, 9 Reb, 2 Steals, 2 Blocks
• Isaiah Hammons – 12 Points, 3-11 FG, 2-6 3FG, 4-4 FT, 6 Assists, 3 Steals, 3 Reb, 2 Blocks

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • After giving up a three-pointer to JBU's D.J. Ellis to start off the game, Omar Boone knocked down a three on the ensuing possession to start a 15-unanswered run. Kendall Scott chipped in seven points during the streak before a Tony Kumanovic layup and an Isaiah Hammons long-range three from the left wing with 12:41 left made it a 15-3 score.
  • JBU's Payton Guiot knocked down a three to snap the run before the Evangels eventually pushed it back out to a 12-point advantage at 18-6 on a Quentin Woodson layup with 8:47 to go.
  • The Golden Eagles surged back with a 15-4 run over the next four minutes, closing it to 22-21 with 4:32 remaining on a Luke Harper layup.
  • On the following possession, Hammons drained his second three of the contest to end the run at 25-22.
  • John Brown dominated the remaining four minutes as the Golden Eagles closed out the half with a 12-point streak to take a 33-25 lead into the halftime break.
• Second Half
  • The Golden Eagles stretched their lead to double-figures on the first possession with Ellis draining a three to bring it to 36-25 before the Evangels score six of the next eight and a Kumanovic three-point play and a Tony Dorsey three-pointer with 16:46 left.
  • Following a pair of free throws by Payton Guiot, Terrance Jones finished off a three-point play to start a 9-2 run finished off by a steal and fastbreak layup by Jaylon Barnett, closing the deficit to 42-40 with 13:44 remaining.
  • The Golden Eagles staved off the Evangels comeback over the next few minutes before utilizing a 7-2 surge to extend the advantage to 58-48 with 9:32 to go off another Ellis three.
  • JBU held a three-possession lead over the following two minutes before the Evangels slowly chipped away at the Golden Eagles advantage. A pair of Dorsey free throws with 7:24 left started a 7-1 streak finished off on a Kendall Scott fastbreak dunk, setting the score to 73-70 with 5:48 left.
  • The Golden Eagles and Evangels traded blows over the next four minutes before Dorsey buried a three from the left wing on the fastbreak to close it to one at 73-72 with just over a minute remaining.
  • On the ensuing possession, the Golden Eagles came up clutch when Luke Harper drove to the basket and drew Dorsey's fifth foul and got the layup to fall, extending the lead back to three with 43 seconds left.
  • Despite missing the free throw, JBU was able to get a defensive stop on MACU's possession and Harper buried two free throws to extend the JBU advantage to 77-72 with 27 seconds left.
  • On MACU's next possession, Scott finished off a second-chance opportunity with a lay-in in the paint before Jones was able to get a steal off of a full-court press and was able to get the layup while drawing the foul with 13 seconds to go as he knocked down the free throw to tie it up at 77-77.
  • JBU's Harper had an opportunity at a game-winner, but Jones came up with a big blocked shot on the free-throw line jumper to send the game to overtime.
• Overtime
  • The Golden Eagles started off the extra session with a pair of three-pointers from Harper and Ellis to hold an 83-77 edge with just under four minutes left.
  • A steal by Tarrence Gaines with an outlet to Jones on a fastbreak layup started a six-unanswered run as a pair of Scott free throws drew it even at 83-all with 2:21 remaining.
  • A layup by Ellis on the ensuing possession gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good as JBU held the Evangels scoreless the rest of the way before a pair of Harper free throws with seven seconds left iced the game from the foul line.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian outshot John Brown 26-of-63 (41.3 percent) to 29-for-75 (38.7 percent) while also knocking down 26-for-37 (70.3 percent) to 17-of-24 (70.8 percent) for the Golden Eagles, but JBU was more efficient from behind the arc at 12-for-35 (34.3 percent) to 5-of-20 (25 percent) for MACU.
• John Brown held a 47-46 edge on the glass while forcing MACU into committing three more turnovers at 21-to-18.
• The Evangels had four players score in double-figures, led by Kendall Scott with a double-double on 19 points off of 5-for-11 shooting, 9-of-15 from the foul line to go with 14 rebounds.
• Terrance Jones narrowly missed a double-double with 15 points on 6-of-12 from the field and 3-for-4 from the line to go with nine boards, two assists, two blocks and two steals.
• While Isaiah Hammons finished with 12 points and a team-high six assists to with three steals and two blocks on the defensive end.
• Tony Dorsey rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting, went 2-for-2 from three and 3-of-4 from the foul line.
• The Evangels struggled to slow down JBU's Payton Guiot who finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-19 from the floor, 5-for-13 from three and had four steals. D.J. Ellis added 20 for the Golden Eagles while James Beckom added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
• With the loss, Mid-America Christian fell to 9-8 and dropped to 2-7 in Sooner Athletic Conference play while John Brown improved to 11-6 and 5-4 against SAC foes.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare to go back on the road on Thursday, Jan. 13 as the Evangels will head to McPherson, Kan. to take on Central Christian for a 7:45 p.m. tip-off.