Red-Hot JBU Wins Sixth Straight

SILOAM SPRINGS -- John Brown is playing its best basketball at the right time of year.

The Golden Eagles won their sixth straight game Thursday with an 87-73 come-from-behind win against Northwood (Texas) inside Bill George Arena and continued their second-half resurgence.

Women

John Brown 88, Northwood 66

Northwood^29^37^—^66

John Brown^45^43^—^88

Northwood (9-20, 2-17): Blanson 19, Robinson 17, Carter 8, Caballero 5, Wright 4, Andazola 4, Woodard 3, Clark 2, Wagner 2, Nekrasaite 2.

John Brown (22-6, 14-5): Shipley 25, Barenberg 22, Garrison 8, Rogers 7, Carrasquillo 7, Ankrom 6, Barker 5, Lee 4, Warren 3, Brown 1.

Men

John Brown 87, Northwood 73

Northwood^38^35^—^73

John Brown^31^56^—^87

Northwood (7-17, 6-13): Pleasant 17, Jones 14, Franklin 12, Massenburge 8, Fisher 5, Taylor 5, Gipson 4, Dale 4, Johnson 4,

John Brown (20-9, 10-9): Hopfgartner 26, Josephs 16, Gyamfi 15, English 10, Phillips 9, Smith 7, Johnson 4.

Once 2-8 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, JBU (20-9) improved to 10-9 in league play.

"It means a lot more to be playing our best ball at the end of the year because that's a goal we talked about at the first of the year," said JBU coach Clark Sheehy. "I think that's the character of our guys. That's what I'm proud about."

With the game tied at 65 with 7 minutes, 16 seconds left, the Golden Eagles went on a 18-2 run over the next 5 minutes to pull put away the Knights, who led 38-31 at halftime.

Max Hopfgartner, who scored a game-high 26 points off the bench, highlighted JBU's second half charge with a two-handed dunk in transition to give JBU an 80-67 lead. Two free throws from Quintin Smith with 2:14 left made it 83-67.

Hopfgartner and Kofi Josephs also hit back-to-back 3-pointers in that span, while Gilbert Gyamfi and Zach English combined to hit 6 of 7 free throws.

Josephs added 16 points for JBU, while Gyamfi had 15 and English had 10 off the bench.

Hopfgartner, who had been a starter until recently, had his best game of the season, going 12 of 15 from the field and pulling down eight rebounds.

"I thought he was great tonight," Sheehy said of Hopfgartner. "I thought he was strong when he finished."

After a poor shooting first half from 3-point distance hitting just 1 of 10 from behind the 3-point line, JBU heated up in the second half and hit 8 of 16. Overall the Golden Eagles hit 29 of 58 from the field. JBU also outrebounded the Knights 44-39.

Northwood (7-17, 6-13) went on a 15-6 run before halftime and forced 15 first half turnovers, including several in the final minutes of the first half to spark that run. The same wasn't true for the second half as John Brown outscored Northwood 56-35 in the second half.

"They handled the pressure better in the second half," said Northwood coach Ray Wilkerson. "When they did break the press they had layups and open 3-pointers."

Everett Pleasant led Northwood with 17 points, while Gary Jones had 14.

JBU returns to action on Saturday against No. 5 Southwestern Assemblies of God.

Women

John Brown 88, Northwood 66

JBU set a program record for wins in a single season with its 22nd victory of the year.

The Golden Eagles (22-6, 14-5), led by a hot-shooting first half, raced out to a double-digit lead in the first half and led by as many as 19 points at halftime.

JBU hit five straight shots in one stretch and four in a row in another in the first half.

JBU extended its lead to as many as 26 points in the second half.

Sierra Shipley led JBU with her seventh double double of the season of 25 points and 11 rebounds. Kortni Barenberg added 21 points for JBU. Lakeisha Blanson led Northwood (9-20, 2-17) with 19 points, while Kayla Robinson had 17.

Sports on 02/28/2014

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