JBU puts damper on Culver's special day

On a day when J.J. Culver scored a season-high 32 points and joined the 1,000-point club, it was John Brown University that left Hutcherson Center celebrating after the Golden Eagles upset the 14^th-ranked Pioneers on Saturday afternoon, 73-72.
 
Sooner Athletic Conference-leading Wayland led by eight with five minutes to play, but the 24^th-ranked Golden Eagles hit four consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 14-2 run that allowed the visitors from Siloam Springs, Ark., to snap a three-game losing skid.
 
It was just the second home loss of the season for Wayland (14-5, 9-2 SAC) in 13 games and only the fourth loss for the Pioneers in the Hutch over the past three seasons.
 
The game saw 15 lead changes and eight ties, with Wayland leading by as many as nine midway through the first half.
 
It appeared the Pioneers would secure their seventh straight victory when Josh Throns hit a 3-pointer to make it 67-59, but the Golden Eagles (13-6, 7-4) responded with four 3s in a row: the first two by Desmond Kennedy and the final pair by Josh Bowling.
 
Culver, the two-time reigning SAC player of the week, put in a layup prior to Bowling's last 3, but that bucket – with 2:25 showing – provided Wayland's only points in the final five minutes before a too-little, too-late, game-ending 3-pointer.
 
"We were up by five and had the ball, and I felt like we took a quick shot, then we didn't find matchups in transition and they hit another three," Harrelson said. "We also missed free throw opportunities down the stretch."
 
After his back-to-back bombs, Bowling sank a jumper that followed a Wayland turnover to give the Golden Eagles a 73-69 lead with 48 seconds left. Culver missed a 3 on the other end, but JBU missed a free throw with 13 seconds to go to give the Pioneers hope.
 
Tough defense by the Golden Eagles prevented Wayland from a quick score, then Culver couldn't get a lay-up to fall and Spencer Lindsey's put-back also missed, all but draining the clock. Wayland got the ball out-of-bounds and Culver made a 3 at the buzzer to account for the final score.
"I should have spread out some minutes (among players). It looked like we were tired down the stretch," Harrelson said. "When you play John Brown, they make you pay because they have really good ball movement. They play high-IQ basketball."
 
Bowling went 8-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and ended with 23 points to lead JBU, which shot 51 percent (26-of-51) overall and 47 percent (14-of-30) from the arch.
 
Wayland, meanwhile, hit only 8-of-28 3s (29 percent) as part of its 41 percent showing from the field (28-of-68). The Pioneers also struggled from the free-throw line, going 8-of-14 (57 percent). All but one of the misses came in the second half when Wayland went 1-of-6 from the line after going 7-of-8 in the first half.
 
Harrelson said the missed foul shots were unusual. "The last several games we shot a really high percentage," he said.
 
Also unusual was the Pioneers being outrebounded, 38-32, even though Wayland gave up only four offensive boards. WBU committed just seven turnovers.
 
Culver's 32 points – on 14-of-28 shooting, including 4-of-12 from long range – ended six points shy of his career-best from his freshman season. The junior guard from Lubbock became the 41^st member of the Pioneers' 1,000-point club four minutes into the game as he was scoring 12 of Wayland's first 16 points.
 
Junior transfer CJ Obinwa finished with 12 points, one off his season-best, while senior transfer Lindsey ended with nine points and 11 rebounds, his season-best by four. Throns and Jeremy Betjol tacked on eight points apiece.
 
Despite the loss, Wayland maintained its first-place lead in the SAC as the first half of league play came to a close for the Pioneers. WBU leads No. 20 USAO (14-4, 7-3) by 1½ games after the Drovers handed No. 8 Langston its fourth setback in six games on Saturday, 89-86.
 
"Despite not having a couple of key players, our guys have really battled and put us in position to make a run in the second half of conference and hopefully solidify a spot in the national tournament," Harrelson said. "We're not going to let one loss by one point define our season."
 
The Pioneers hit the road next week, taking on Mid-America Christian (12-6, 5-5) at 8 p.m. Thursday then USAO at 4 p.m. Saturday. Wayland defeated MACU, 70-50, and USAO, 95-88, earlier in the season. WBU returns home Jan. 31 against Langston.