SILOAM SPRINGS — Donnie Bostwick enjoyed his return to John Brown University as the coach on the opposing sideline.

Bostwick and No. 5 Southwestern Assemblies of God played the role of spoiler on Senior Night as the Lions upended the Golden Eagles 74-68 in front of a large crowd in Bill George Arena.

The loss snapped JBU's six-game winning streak and eliminated the Golden Eagles from the pool of teams in the running to receive an automatic bid to the NAIA Division I National Tournament later this month in Kansas City, Mo.

JBU (20-10, 10-10) can earn a trip to Kansas City by winning four games in four days at the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament, which starts Wednesday at Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee, Okla.

"We told our guys in the locker room, if you want to go to the national tournament, here's where we're at," said JBU coach Clark Sheehy.

The Golden Eagles trailed 29-28 at halftime despite having its two leading scorers -- sophomore Kofi Josephs and senior Gilbert Gyamfi -- shoot a combined 1 of 12 from the field. JBU also held SAGU to 33 percent shooting the from the field.

"I looked at halftime, and between Gilbert and Kofi, we're one of 12 from the field and down one," Sheehy said. "We felt pretty good at halftime, thinking we've got a chance here."

Josephs and Gyamfi picked up their offensive production in the second half, but JBU's defense allowed SAGU to shoot 53.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.

SAGU standout Dominque Rambo scored 19 of his game-high 31 points in the second half as the Lions (26-4, 17-3) opened up a double-digit lead. JBU tried to claw back in the final minutes and got within three points but no closer.

"We let them shoot too good of a percentage in the second half and didn't get some timely stops," Sheehy said. "That was kind of the story of this game."

Bostwick, who is in his third season as head coach at SAGU and led the Lions to the national championship game last year -- was honored in a brief ceremony before the game and received a warm reception from the crowd.

"God has blessed this place," Bostwick said of JBU. "Look at the facilities. It's a great place. I've got a lot of friends here. It was fun coming back. I'm just glad my seniors stepped up and made me look good tonight."

Caleb Gentry added 20 points for the Lions, while Tyler Guidry added nine points.

Gyamfi and Josephs each finished with 17 points to lead JBU, while Quintin Smith had 13 points and Max Hopfgartner had 12 off the bench.

John Brown will now play Northwood (Texas) in the opening round of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday.

Women

John Brown 59, SAGU 55

Sierra Shipley stole an inbounds pass with 10 seconds left and grabbed a crucial defensive rebound with 1 second remaining to help JBU preserve a victory over the Lions.

Shipley, a senior from Fayetteville, split a pair of free throws to give JBU a 57-55 lead with 10.1 seconds remaining after her steal.

SAGU's Nia Winston missed a shot on the other end, and Shipley rebounded and was fouled with 1 second remaining. She hit both free throws this time to set the final score.

Shipley finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Lauren Rogers scored 15 points and had six rebounds.

JBU earned the fourth seed and received a bye in the opening round of the SAC Tournament and will play Mid-America Christian on Thursday in the second round. JBU split with MACU during the regular season, beating the 92-66 at Bill George Arena on Jan. 23 and losing at MACU 60-55 on Feb. 20.

Sports on 03/03/2014