From SGU Sports Information
WOMEN
SHAWNEE – John Brown used a strong defensive effort in the second half to overcome an early deficit and defeat St. Gregory’s 72-63 Thursday night at W.P. Wood Field House. The Golden Eagles trailed by six at halftime but held the Cavaliers to 19 percent shooting in the second half en route to its third win in four games.
SGU (7-10, 0-3 SAC) lost its fifth consecutive game despite a season-high 21 points from Porsche Young. Like most of the Cavs, the junior did her damage in the first half. Young was held without a field goal in the final 20 minutes after starting 6-for-9 from the floor. Sierra Shipley led JBU with a season-high 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting.
The loss came despite another good defensive effort from SGU, which held its 14th opponent to below 40 percent from the field. The Golden Eagles shot 38 percent but their 47-34 advantage on the boards led to 17 second-chance points.
Young nearly singlehandedly gave SGU an early eight-point lead. She started the game 4-for-4, including three from long distance, and the Cavs went up 13-5 just six minutes in. SGU kept the visitors at arm’s length the rest of the period, as JBU got no closer than three.
The lead was 36-30 at halftime for SGU, which shot 47 percent. It held the Golden Eagles to only 36 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. Young had 15 at the break to lead all scorers.
The home team’s advantage disappeared quickly in the second half, though, as SGU made only one of its first 10 shots. JBU converted that into an 8-0 run to take its first lead at 38-36 with 17:12 left. It was 43-41 Golden Eagles with just more than 13 to play when the visitors went on another run, this time 20-8, to go up 63-49 with 6:14 left.
The Cavs cut it to 67-60 on a Leticia Silva three-pointer with 2:02 remaining but got no closer. SGU finished the second half only 5 of 26 from the floor. Silva and Stacy Lee both finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points respectively.
SGU returns to action next Thursday at Mid-America Christian. That game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip.
MEN
SHAWNEE – Dylan Lemley’s baseline jumper at the buzzer fell short and so did the St. Gregory’s upset bid Thursday night at W.P. Wood Field House. The Cavaliers dropped a 63-61 decision to No. 25 John Brown in a hard-fought game that featured six ties and seven lead changes.
SGU (6-7, 0-3 SAC) had a chance to tie or take the lead on its last two possessions but couldn’t convert on either, falling for the fifth consecutive game and the 11th time overall versus the Golden Eagles.
Down 62-61 with 28 seconds remaining, the Cavs forced a turnover on an inbounds pass and had a chance to go ahead. But Josiah Campbell’s running hook in the lane clanged off the front of the rim with eight seconds left, forcing the Cavs to foul.
After JBU’s Kurtis Phillips made one of two free throws, SGU drove the length of the floor and Lemley’s off-balanced jumper didn’t draw iron as the buzzer sounded.
Fayzon Richey, who came into the game 60 points shy of 2,000 career points, scored a game-high 23. The Golden Eagles, who rank third in the NAIA in field goal percentage defense, limited the Cavs to 35 percent shooting. SGU, however, had a 45-28 advantage on the boards and converted 20 second-chance points.
Both defenses dominated in a nip-and-tuck first half that saw four lead changes. SGU took its largest advantage of the period at 23-17 on two John Clark free throws with 4:08 left, but the Golden Eagles held the Cavs to one bucket the rest of the way and cut it to 27-25 at the break.
JBU limited the home team to 33 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. SGU was even better, though, holding the Golden Eagles to 31 percent. Richey led all scorers with eight at halftime.
The Cavs picked it up on the offensive end early in the second half, scoring eight of the game’s first 10 points to take their largest lead, 35-27, with 16:47 to go. But like in the first half, that lead was short-lived. The Golden Eagles hit their next four shots during an 11-0 spurt to regain the advantage at 38-35 with 13 to play.
That lead held until the 3:44 mark when Richey’s put-back gave the Cavs a 54-53 lead, setting off a frenzied conclusion to the game. Tied at 56, JBU hit two huge three-pointers on consecutive possessions to make it 62-58 with 43 seconds left. SGU junior Brock Vorwald answered on the Cavs’ next possession with a three from the top of the key to cut it to one with 28 ticks remaining.
SGU returns to action next Thursday at Mid-America Christian. That game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. tip.
Brad Collins is the Sports Information Director at St. Gregory’s University.