Struggles on offense hurt the USAO men’s basketball team (9-15, 7-13 SAC) as they fell to the John Brown University Golden Eagles (JBU) (16-8, 14-6 SAC).
JBU put themselves ahead with a plethora of three-pointers, making seven in the first half. Only four Drover players made it on the scoreboard in the first half with senior Tyler Cauley leading the way with nine points, sophomore Ryein Kennedy with six, and senior Tre Edwards came off the bench to provide five points. At halftime, the Drovers were trailing 31-22.
Following halftime, JBU continued to stretch their lead, being ahead by 15 with 10 minutes remaining. The Drovers inched closer and were down eight with two minutes remaining, but by then they were out of time. Kennedy led the team in points for the second half, with seven points, three rebounds, and two assists. Edwards contributed from the bench again with five points as well as sophomore Lendy Holmes scoring four as a reserve.
Despite their offensive struggles, USAO played well defensively, forcing 17 turnovers on the night. Out of JBU’s 22 completed shots, 12 of them were three-pointers.
Kennedy finished as the Drovers leading scorer with 13 points along with two blocks, two steals, and seven rebounds. Cauley finished with 11 points and four rebounds while Edwards finished with 10 points.
USAO currently is tenth in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) standings as they near the postseason and are fighting for a spot in the conference tournament. The top eight teams in the SAC get to participate in the tournament following the regular season.
Next Thursday, Feb. 13, the Drovers will be at home again for the last home game of the season, as well as senior night. The Drovers will face off against Mid-America Christian University (MACU) (18-5,14-5 SAC) before a three-game road trip to finish the season.
Matthew Yokum is a third-year communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
