SILOAM SPRINGS -- A double technical foul called late in the fourth quarter proved to be a huge momentum swing for John Brown on Saturday.
JBU's Brenton Toussaint and Oklahoma Panhandle State's Jace Kerr were both hit with technical fouls with 4 minutes, 7 seconds left and Panhandle State leading 93-86.
MEN
John Brown 106, Panhandle State 103
Panhandle State^54^49^—^103
John Brown^53^53^—^106
Panhandle State: Kerr 29, Whitfield 26, Pate 21, Sumo 13, Ellis 11, Landers 3.
John Brown: Bowling 28, Caudle 24, Grabliauskas 15, Waller 9, Corder 8, Smith 8, Toussaint 6, Joksimovic 6, Carnes 2.
WOMEN
John Brown 86, Panhandle State 53
Panhandle State^8^14^17^14^—^53
John Brown^19^22^27^18^—^86
Panhandle State (8-4, 1-4): Munsch 20, Dearmin 17, Regier 6, Faulks 4, Kelso 4, Roberson 2.
John Brown (10-4, 4-1): Cameron 18, Skrastina 16, Williams 11, Chandra 10, Deines 9, Reece 8, Fergen 8, Schammel 3, Martin 3.
The play was significant because it was Kerr's fifth foul, and the Sooner Athletic Conference's leading scorer was out for the rest of the game with 29 points already on the board.
With Kerr out, the Golden Eagles took advantage, outscoring Panhandle State 20-10 the rest of the way -- including a 15-3 run over the final 2 minutes, 45 seconds -- to defeat the Aggies 106-103 at Bill George Arena.
"I don't know what happened in that one. The tide had turned," said JBU head coach Jason Beschta. "I was just proud in a game of runs for our team to believed still late that we had a run in us. We could have caved, I think, right there, when we were down. It looked like it could have gotten a little too far out of reach."
JBU (9-4, 4-1) trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half, but the Golden Eagles kept chipping away.
Even after Kerr fouled out, Panhandle State pulled ahead 100-91 after two free throws from Jaedon Whitfield. Jake Caudle answered with a 3-pointer for JBU to start the 15-3 run to close the ballgame.
Josh Bowling and Nathan Corder knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game 100-100.
Panhandle State retook the lead 101-100 on a free throw by Tyler Pate with 48.3 seconds left, but the Golden Eagles got it back for good when Marquis Waller drove baseline for a two-handed dunk.
Bowling picked up a defensive rebound on the other and was fouled. He hit two free throws with 19.7 seconds left for a 104-101 lead.
Panhandle State closed within 104-103 on a putback by Thomas Ellis with 9.5 left, but Waller hit two free throws to extend the margin back to 106-103.
"(JBU) made plays down the stretch," said Panhandle State coach Jerry Olsen. "We had eight possessions in a row where we didn't make a (defensive) stop. Huge, huge, huge double foul with (four) minutes to go. They lose a four-point a game scorer, we lose the third-leading scorer on the country. I've got to see it to see why they called that."
Pate missed a game-tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds.
"We didn't play defense I'll tell you that," said Bowling, who led JBU with 28 points. "We gave up 103, I think, but we've always been preaching let's just get better. We've had a few come from behind wins this year. We just kept fighting. Defense stepped up there at the end and got a few stops. Guys made some shots. We made our free throws."
Caudle added 24 points for JBU, while Rokas Grabliauskas had 15 for the Golden Eagles.
Kerr led Panhandle State with 29, while Whitifield had 26, Pate 21, D.K. Sumo 13 and Ellis 11.
Women
John Brown 86, Panhandle State 53
John Brown connected on a school-record 21 3-pointers to run away with the conference victory over SAC newcomer Panhandle State.
Nine different Golden Eagles hit from long range, and the team finished 21 of 40 from behind the 3-point line.
The previous record of 20 3-pointers was set on Dec. 14. 2013 in a win against Oklahoma Wesleyan.
Baily Cameron hit three of those 3-pointers and led JBU with 18 points, while Luize Skrastina had four treys off the bench and 16 points. Sara Williams hit three 3-pointers and had 11 points, while Karina Chandra had two triples and 10 points.
Addison Munsch led Panhandle State with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Madison Dearmin chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds.
Sports on 01/07/2018