KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- John Brown picked a bad time to have its worst outing of the season.
Isaac Edmondson poured in a game-high 28 points and Bethel (Tenn.) used a team effort on the glass to power past the Golden Eagles 77-57 in the opening round of the 82nd annual NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship on Wednesday at Municipal Auditorium.
John Brown was held to 33 percent (20 of 60) shooting from the field and 28.6 percent (8 of 28) from behind the arch. Bethel, meanwhile, shot 45.3 percent (29 of 64), and the Wildcats -- one of the NAIA's top rebounding teams -- dominated the glass by a margin of 47-34.
The Golden Eagles, who were making their first national tournament appearance since 2013, saw their season end with a record of 23-11.
"You can't say this is all us and not the other team," said JBU coach Jason Beschta. "The other team certainly had something to do with this one, but I would say it would be hard to find a game this year we played worse. It just so happens to be out here against a high level of competition."
After an early 3-pointer from Jake Caudle gave JBU a 3-2 lead, Bethel got the lead back and led the rest of the way.
JBU kept it close midway through the first half, pulling within 19-17 on a tomahawk dunk by Densier Carnes. But Bethel (25-8) answered with a 9-0 run to take a 28-17 lead, including a drive and score from Edmondson and 3-pointers from Edmondson and Cayden Edmonson.
Bethel led 34-24 at halftime. John Brown got within 35-28 early in the second half on a Josh Bowling jumper. Bethel went on a 7-0 run to go up 42-28 after a 3-pointer by Foday Sankaray.
Luke Harper answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to pull JBU back within 42-34, but that was as close as the Golden Eagles would get the rest of the way.
Bethel pulled away the rest of the second half and led by as many as 22 in the end. The Wildcats advance to play in Friday's Round of 16 against LSU-Alexandria.
"We knew they were going to be a tough, really physical team," Beschta said of Bethel. "We've been hearing it. We've been seeing it. I thought they brought that at a really high level today. I think it showed more later in the game, the more we got down and got beat down and tired. They do a really good job of coming at you still."
After the early 3-pointer, Caudle was unable to connect again from the field as JBU's leading scorer finished 1 of 11 with five points. Josh Bowling led JBU with 13 points on 5 of 14 shooting, while Harper had 11 off the bench.
"We knew that Caudle is just a tremendous player," Bethel coach Jeff Britt said. "He's kind of the heart and soul. We knew how good he was. We watched the Oklahoma City game, and I think it was the Mid-America Christian game in the conference tournament. Those guys are great players. They've been good all year. We were just trying to key on them."
Edmondson finished 9 of 14 from the field and 9 of 11 from the free-throw line for his 28 points to lead Bethel. Charles Cobb added 13 points off the bench. Bethel had five players with at least six rebounds.
"We knew they were leading the country in offensive rebounds," Beschta said. "We knew that would be tough. It's not something we can simulate the way they do it, and they do a good job with that."
Bethel^34^43^--^77
John Brown^24^33^--^57
Bethel (25-8): Edmondson 28, Cobb 13, Edmonson 9, Sankaray 7, C. Nappier 5, Walker 5, B. Nappier 4, Chatman 4, Brown 2.
John Brown (23-11): Bowling 13, Harper 11, Carnes 9, Bailey 7, Grabliauskas 6, Kennedy 6, Caudle 5.
Sports on 03/21/2019