Box Score SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. --- The Pioneers suffered their second straight conference loss on the road on Saturday afternoon, dropping an 87-78 decision to John Brown University.
Senior forward Isaiah Jackson, who scored 12 of his 20 points in the game's first eight minutes, propelled to an early nine point advantage.
JBU came back to take a 19-17 lead with 9:20 remaining in the half. After Bobby Watkins tied it a minute later, the Golden Eagles reeled off 16 unanswered points over the next five minutes.
Trailing 45-33 at halftime, Johnny Terra, George Williams and TJ Jacobs each hit a three to open the second period, whittling the JBU lead down to three (48-45) with 13:39 left in the game.
The Pioneers kept the deficit in single digits until Abel Galliguez's bucket with just under three minutes on the clock. That was the last field goal of the game for JBU, which hit 14 of their 18 free throw attempts over the final two minutes.
"First of all, give a lot of credit to John Brown. They made big plays and big shots at key moments," said Pioneer Coach Matt Garnett, who saw his team fall to 5-4 on the season.
"We competed very well today in stretches. What we have to do is play the game possession by possession. We had too many stretches where we lost focus and a good team like JBU will make you pay."
Williams led all scorers in the game with 22 points. Jacobs added 11, and Jamie Eisinger put in ten. Eisinger contributed six assists and had three of the Pioneer's four steals.
WBU shot 48 percent (29-of-60) from the field, hit 10-of-23 from behind the three-point line, and made good on 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.
John Brown went 27-of-52 (51.9 percent) from the field, including 10-of-20 treys. The big difference in the contest came at the free throw line, where the Golden Eagles scored 23 points off 33 attempts.
"I am proud of my guys," added Garnett, whose team will return home to take on Lubbock Christian at Hutcherson Center on Thursday in its final game before the Christmas break. "They are continuing to improve each day. The key for us is to stay the course and continue working hard to get better every day. If we do that, we can compete."
