Cameron comes through again for JBU women

SILOAM SPRINGS -- Baily Cameron scored 84 points in three games this past week, but perhaps none were bigger than the two she got from the free-throw line Saturday with the game in the balance.

Cameron's two free throws with 4.8 seconds left gave John Brown a 72-68 lead and proved to be the winning points in a 72-70 victory over Texas Wesleyan on senior night at Bill George Arena.

WOMEN

John Brown 72, Texas Wesleyan 70

Texas Wesleyan^18^9^21^22^—^70

John Brown^20^17^15^20^—^72

Texas Wesleyan (7-19, 5-13): Fuller 20, Whorley 12, Sicurella 10, Sanchez 9, Burns 5, Trice 5, Louallen 3, Gleason 2, Benjamin 2, McClure 2.

John Brown (17-10, 11-7): Cameron 22, Schammel 17, Orpo 13, Williams 7, Fergen 6, Teague 3, Deines 2, Reece 2.

MEN

Texas Wesleyan 79, John Brown 76

Texas Wesleyan^33^46^—^79

John Brown^26^50^—^76

Texas Wesleyan (20-8, 13-5): Jenkins 22, Jones 21, Harris 19, Anderson 9, Thomas 5, Brazeal 3.

John Brown (15-12, 9-9): Bowling 35, Caudle 18, Carnes 7, Waller 4, Corder 3, Smith 3, Grabliauskas 2, Jones 2, Joksimovic 2.

Cameron scored 13 of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter as JBU (17-10, 11-7) remained in the hunt for a top-four seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings. The former Siloam Springs standout also had 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season after scoring 30 points at Bacone on Tuesday and 32 against Southwestern Assemblies of God on Thursday.

"I know that we have all talked and we really want to finish this season strong," Cameron said. "Because we've had some ups and downs throughout the season, which every team has. Yeah we just really want to finish strong want to finish, and I feel like we're really coming to a point where we are clicking like we were beginning of season, and hopefully we'll make a run at it."

The Golden Eagles remained in fifth place in the conference with two games to play this week. The top four teams in the league will host a first-round game of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on Feb. 27, and JBU is the host site for the semifinals and finals on March 2-3.

"We're game-by-game and possession-by-possession," said JBU coach Jeff Soderquist. "We've just got to focus on that because, even hosting first round here, some of that's out of our control, and we've just got to deal with what we can control."

Cameron, who was in foul trouble early, went to work in the fourth quarter. She scored nine straight points for JBU as the Golden Eagles took a 64-54 lead with less than two minutes remaining.

Another Cameron basket made it 66-58 with just more than a minute left, but three straight JBU turnovers led to five straight TWU points as the Rams cut it to 66-63.

Taylor Fergen knocked down four straight free throws for JBU in the last minute, and Cameron hit her two as JBU iced the victory. Jana Schammel scored 14 of her 17 points in the first half for JBU, while Rosa Orpo had 10 of her 13 in the first half as well.

Men

Texas Wesleyan 79, John Brown 76

The Golden Eagles took the defending national champions down to the wire, but Josh Bowling's 3-point attempt to tie was off target and the Rams held on for the victory.

No. 20 Texas Wesleyan (20-8, 13-5) moved back into a tie with idle Oklahoma City for first place in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

LSU transfer Branden Jenkins led the Rams with 22 points, including two free throws with 21.6 seconds left to give the Rams a 77-76 lead after Bowling had given the Golden Eagles the lead with a 3-pointer.

The Rams forced a turnover on JBU's next offensive possession, and Ryan Harris was fouled. Harris hit two free throws to set the final score.

"We've been fighting our own demons for the last couple of weeks," said Texas Wesleyan coach Brennen Shingleton. "We hadn't shot the ball as well as we'd like, and we're trying to find an identity defensively and trying to get healthy and a bunch of stuff. John Brown played its tail off. We knew it was going to be hard to guard."

Juwan Jones scored 21 points off the bench for the Rams, while Harris had 19. The Rams shot 17 of 27 (63 percent) from the field in the second half.

Bowling had a career-high 35 points for JBU (15-12, 9-9), which answered Wesleyan point for point in the second half. Jake Caudle added 18.

"We did a great job fighting to get back," said JBU head coach Jason Beschta. "Gosh, we executed our stuff down the stretch. We got some really good looks on things. We even got a good look there at the end. I'm proud of the way we did that."

Sports on 02/18/2018

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