BATESVILLE – Lyon College President W. Joseph King and Director of Athletics Kevin Jenkins announced the hiring of Chris Douglas as the fourth head football coach of the Scots during the modern era.

“I am excited that Chris Douglas has agreed to become our new head football coach,” Jenkins said. “Coach Douglas has had great success as a collegiate coach and I believe he will continue to help build upon the recent success of our program. He will be a tremendous mentor and role model for our student-athletes, and will provide great leadership for our program both on and off the field.”

Douglas has extensive experience in high school and collegiate coaching, which spans over 25 years, including over 15 years as a head coach.

“I am very humbled and excited to be able to be named the next head football coach at Lyon College,” Douglas said. “From everything I have been able to see and experience, Lyon is an excellent academic institution and has a strong tradition athletically as well.  I am excited to take such a new program and see what we can do with it moving forward. I am very excited to join the Lyon family. I cannot wait to meet and work with our coaches and players!”

Douglas turned around a struggling program at MacMurray College (MC) in Jacksonville, Ill., soon after he arrived in June of 2011. From 2006-10, the program had seen only one win throughout that stretch. Douglas had 27 returners and 17 newcomers on the team entering his first season at MC. The Highlanders won two games during Douglas’ first season at the helm in 2011, which included snapping a 22-game losing streak.

Douglas coached at MC for nine seasons, which included a 34-15 mark over his last five seasons with the Highlanders. The team finished second in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) standings in 2017 and 2018.

Prior to his stint at MC, Douglas served as the head coach at his alma mater, Southwestern College, to be the head coach at age 31 – third-youngest head collegiate coach in the country at the time. At SWC, Douglas coached 63 all-conference selections, two NAIA All-Americans and three NAIA All-American Scholar-Athletes.

Before his return to Southwestern, Douglas coached running backs at NCAA Division II Abilene Christian University. He also coached linebackers and served as defensive coordinator for Jamestown (ND) College for one season, where the team improved from ninth in conference scoring defense to fourth. Douglas also served as the offensive coordinator at Highland Community College in Highland, Kan.

Douglas first served as a head coach at Stigler High School (Okla.). In his second season, Douglas guided Stigler to a 7-3 record as the Panthers qualified for a home playoff berth – the first in 25 years at Stigler.

Douglas began his coaching career at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan., where he earned first-team all-conference accolades and was an NAIA All-American Scholar-Athlete. Douglas was an assistant coach at his alma mater, where he helped SWC win three consecutive Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Championships and earn three NAIA National Playoff appearances from 1997-99.

Douglas has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Southwestern College and a master’s in education from Wichita State University. Douglas and his wife Michelle have three children.

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OKLAHOMA CITY – John Brown will be the top seed as the Sooner Athletic Conference men’s soccer tournament will get under way Friday, Nov. 8 with quarterfinal matches on campus sites throughout the league.

No. 1 seed John Brown took its first SAC men’s soccer regular-season championship this year. The Golden Eagles (14-3) face Southwestern Assemblies of God in a 4 p.m. contest Nov. 8 at Alumni Field in Siloam Springs, Ark.

John Brown outscored league foes 34-5 this season. The Golden Eagles won their first eight SAC matches in 2019. Jacob Zamarron, a freshman from Rogers, Ark., delivered conference bests with 21 goals and 51 points while dishing out nine assists for John Brown this year.

Mid-America Christian (14-2-1) secured the No. 2 seed. The Evangels dealt John Brown its first loss in league play 3-1 on Tuesday in Siloam Springs, Ark. Mid-America Christian reached No. 19 in the NAIA ratings this season.

The Evangels collected their first SAC Tournament crown Nov. 9, 2018 over Science & Arts of Oklahoma. Mid-America won on penalty kicks 5-4 after finishing tied at 1-1 after two overtimes in Chickasha, Okla.

The SAC Tournament champion secures a berth in the NAIA Championships. The NAIA Championship Opening Round will be Nov. 22-23 on campus sites around the country, then the NAIA Championships take place Dec. 2-7 in Irvine, Calif.

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament
MEN
At campus sites
Friday, Nov. 8
Quarterfinals
No. 7 Texas Wesleyan (4-14) at No. 2 Mid-America Christian (14-2-1), 2 p.m.
No. 8 SW Assemblies of God (3-13-1) at No. 1 John Brown (14-3), 4 p.m.
No. 5 Southwestern Christian (9-8) at No. 4 Wayland Baptist (9-3-3), 4 p.m.
No. 6 Panhandle State (8-5-2) at No. 3 USAO (11-5-1), 7 p.m.

At highest remaining seed
Monday, Nov. 11
Semifinals
SCU-WBU winner vs. JBU-SAGU winner
OPSU-USAO winner vs. MACU-TXWES winner

Thursday, Nov. 14
Championship
Semifinal winners

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SILOAM SPRINGS – In a wild marathon, the John Brown University volleyball team used career highs from senior Bayli Reagan and freshman Jenna Lowery to avoid losing a 2-0 advantage in the contest, as the Golden Eagles defeated Mid-America Christian (Okla.) in five sets (25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 16-14) on Wednesday (Oct. 10) night inside Bill George Arena.

Reagan blasted a career-high 20 kills on an enormous hitting effort, clocking in at .576 (20-1-33), while Lowery scooped a career-best 34 digs as John Brown (11-8, 10-4 Sooner Athletic) took the fifth set in come-from-behind fashion.

Both passers had career nights for John Brown, as freshman Carries Ciesla passed out 25 assists and junior Elizabeth Williams assisted on 35 of John Brown’s 72 terminations. The duo helped the hosts hit .245 (72-26-188) on the match.

Four Golden Eagles finished the contest in double-digit kills, as sophomore Taylor Glover (14), junior Megan Beck and junior Lindsey (Davis) powered the Golden Eagle offense. Glover’s 14 proved to be a career-high.

“Tonight’s match against MACU was nothing less than two teams battling back and forth for just enough surges of momentum at critical moments to win sets,” head coach Ken Carver admitted. “MACU showed a lot of heart and grit to battle back from an 0-2 deficit and have our team on the ropes in the fifth before we were able to claw our way back and do just enough with a block termination and a timely overpass kill to seal the win.

“While we definitely showed some mental and physical fatigue in sets three and four, I was extremely proud of our players that they kept fighting and kept their communication positive in our huddles as to what we needed to do next. We did enough to grind out the win tonight and hold our place in the conference standing moving forward.”

Led by 19 kills from Da’Jah Thompson, MACU (10-12, 5-8) also earned 11 terminations from both Dianne Walter and Hannah Balzer-Lipsett and Alexa Bass assisted on 47 of the Evangels’ 60 kills.

Back-to-back John Brown attack errors allowed the visitors to capture match point, 14-13, but coming out of a timeout, the Golden Eagles responded with a Kinzee Mayo kill and, with the serve, stole back the match from MACU.

Glover and Davis teamed up for a rejection at the left pin to earn match point, and an overpass that was swatted down at the left line by Glover finished the match that lasted 2:16.

Davis led the JBU block effort at the net with two solo rejections and a trio of assists. Junior Jessica Meyer added four of her own while Glover contributed three, including half of the big-time stuff to move JBU to match point.

The Golden Eagles will now embark to Columbia, Mo. to take part in the Hampton Inn Classic, where it will face a trio of tough American Midwest opponents in William Woods (Mo.), Missouri Baptist and host Columbia (Mo.) over the four-match weekend tournament.

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BATESVILLE – The Lyon College football team’s defense stepped up in a big way holding the nation’s top passing team to just 290 yards through the air, but No. 22 Arizona Christian was able to hold off the Scots’ upset as Lyon fell by a score of 26-23 in overtime on Saturday night at Pioneer Stadium.

Saturday night’s game marked the first Sooner Athletic Conference game for both teams in the conference’s inaugural season. Lyon fell to 1-2 (0-1 SAC) with the loss, while ACU improved to 3-0 (1-0 SAC).

Game Flow
A 43-yard return on the opening kickoff set the Firestorm up in Lyon territory to start the drive. After a pair of big gains by ACU quarterback Adam Abbatacola, the Firestorm took an early 7-0 lead on a 30-yard pass from Abbatacola to Kendrick Murphy.

Lyon cut into the deficit late in the first quarter on a 24-yard field goal by Ignacio Gomez before opening up the second quarter with another scoring drive. The Scots took to the ground with Jared Puamau and Titus Nelson to set them up just outside of the red zone before Spencer Childress connected with Jacquez Parker for a 31-yard touchdown that put Lyon ahead, 10-7.

Lyon added to its lead with another 24-yard field goal by Gomez, but ACU cut the lead to 13-10 with a 34-yard field goal by Josh Gonzales just before the end of the half.

The Scots scored the only points of the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Gomez to take a 16-10 advantage into the final period.

Abbatacola produced another scoring drive for the Firestorm on their opening drive of the fourth quarter as the signal-caller completed 6-of-7 passes on the drive that was capped off by a six-yard pass to Isaiah Huston. ACU had a chance to take the lead, but a botched snap on the PAT kept the Firestorm off the board as the score remained tied at 16-16.

After the two teams traded possessions, the Scots found themselves at their own five-yard line following an ACU punt and a holding penalty. Childress found Emetrious Scott on a quick slant pass and it was off to the races as Scott outran the entire ACU defense for a 95-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive. The touchdown by Scott marked the longest play from scrimmage in modern history for the Lyon College football program.

Arizona Christian rallied back to force overtime on a one-yard run by Alec Hathcock with just under a minute left to play in regulation.

Lyon gained possession first to open up the overtime period, but came up unsuccessful on putting any points on the board. A 15-yard pass from Abbatacola to Alias Sturges put the Firestorm inside field-goal range as Gonzales kicked a 39-yarder through the uprights to give ACU the 26-23 victory.

Key Statistics

• Childress set a single-game record with 337 passing yards.
• Scott set a single-game record with 251 receiving yards.
• Tre Hawkins finished with a team-high seven total tackles, including one tackle-for-loss and one sack.
• Abbatacola finished with 290 passing yards for ACU.

Up Next
Lyon will travel to Surprise, Ariz., next week in its first-ever meeting against Ottawa-Arizona in another SAC contest. Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. (central time).

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MARSHALL, Mo. — The No. 24 John Brown University women’s soccer team used a goal in each half and a strong performance in goal to open the 2018 campaign with a 2-0 win over Missouri Valley on Saturday (Aug. 18) night at Gregg-Mitchell Field.

Behind sophomore Caitlyn Logan’s second-career clean sheet and senior Jastin Redman’s three-point night, the Golden Eagles (1-0-0) improved to 11-5-1 in season openers.

Despite being out-shot 8-7 in the contest, JBU held in check Missouri Valley’s leading scorer from last season, Julia Mejias, who attempted four shots, but only one finding goal, which Logan handled.

With MVC (0-1-0) applying early pressure, the Golden Eagles jumped to a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute when sophomore Emily Jordan’s corner kick landed in the box, right at the foot of Redman, who one-touched a shot just inside the far right post from six yards out.

Redman’s 47th career goal handed the upstart visitors the lead, and for good. It was Redman’s 13th career game-winner.

Fighting through a half in which the hosts held a 5-2 shooting advantage at the intermission, John Brown again responded early in the second half to double its lead.

Just 10 minutes into the second half, senior Aspen Carpenter netted her first of the season, from Redman, when she ripped an attempt from the top of the 18 that found the upper right corner, beating MVC keeper Summer Budaj, adding an insurance marker for the visitors.

Although armed with a 2-0 advantage, the Golden Eagles countered the Viking first-half effort by out-shooting the hosts 5-3 in the second half. The stellar JBU defense held MVC to just two shot attempts over the final 25 minutes of play.

Logan matched her single-game career high with five saves, earning the full-match victory in goal.

Freshmen Alair Love and Vanessa Reynoso each made their collegiate debuts for John Brown.

JBU will now travel to Columbia, Mo. this evening and rest tomorrow before taking on No. 10 Columbia at R. Marvin Owens Stadium on Monday (Aug. 20) at 5 p.m.

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OKLAHOMA CITY – The John Brown University volleyball team was picked to finish third in the Sooner Athletic Conference, per the release of the 2018 SAC Volleyball Coaches Preseason Poll by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.

The Golden Eagles finished just six points behind predicted co-champions, Oklahoma City and Southwestern A.G. (Texas). John Brown garnered the only first place vote not cast for either City or SAGU. Both the Stars and Lions each earned 101 points apiece, including five first-place votes.

After divisional play lasted only a year, the Sooner Athletic will revert back to a double round robin format where each team will face every opponent in a home-and-home matchup. The Golden Eagles finished the 2017 season with a 26-7 record, including a tie for third place finish, with Texas Wesleyan, boasting a 13-3 mark in conference play. Last year, JBU was predicted to finish fourth in the conference.

Oklahoma City has won the past two SAC regular season and tournament titles. The Stars hold the top spot in the preseason poll for the third year in a row. Southwestern Assemblies of God comes off setting a single-season program record for victories (30). Both teams collected 101 points and five first-place votes in the poll of conference coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

Texas Wesleyan came in fourth with 82 points, while Wayland Baptist (Texas) took fifth with 81 points. League coaches placed Southwestern Christian (Okla.) at sixth place followed by Mid-America Christian (Okla.) in seventh. Oklahoma Panhandle State stood in eighth place, while Central Christian (Kan.) held ninth. The remaining spots were held by first-year SAC member Langston, Science & Arts (Okla.) and Bacone (Okla.), respectively.

2018 SAC Volleyball Coaches’ Preseason Poll

The Golden Eagles return eight letterwinners from last year squad, while featuring four newcomers – three freshmen and a transfer.

Leading the way at the net this year will be returning All-SAC First Teamer and conference Hitter of the Year Jessica Meyer. The junior middle hitter led the Golden Eagles offensively last season, collecting 325 kills at 2.9 kills per set, while hitting .349, pacing the SAC overall and improved to .378 in conference play. The returning NAIA All-America honorable mention also offered the team lead in defense at the net, posting 102 total blocks (20 solo, 82 assisted) and nearly averaging a full block per set. Also at the net is Meyer’s fellow junior middle hitter Lindsey Davis. Davis combined with Meyer to morph into one of the SAC’s most formidable duo at the net as she contributed 211 terminations and hit .236 on the season. Returning senior Bayli Reagan will look to improve her hitting percentage while maintaining her output at 300 kills last season, third-most on the squad.

John Brown suffers a few difficult losses in 2018 as All-Conference selections Alyssa Arnold and Beth Brankle to graduation. Junior setter Elizabeth Williams will look to return to form after an injury-plagued 2017, despite posting 4.4 assists per set. Brankle’s departing is difficult at defensive specialist, but returning senior Bailey Sager averaged 2.1 digs per set in 108 set appearances.

The biggest loss will be All-Conference second team selection, junior Carly McKinney. McKinney will redshirt this season due to an offseason injury.

The Golden Eagles open the 2018 campaign in Orange City, Iowa at the Northwestern (Iowa) Red Raider Classic on Aug. 24-25. After the season-opening tournament, the John Brown will hit the road for four consecutive SAC matches before finally returning to Siloam Springs for back-to-back home contests with Wayland Baptist (Texas) and Oklahoma Panhandle State from Sept. 14-15.

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Casey Creehan addressed the crowd gathered in the Fort Worth Club at the inaugural Sooner Athletic Conference Football Media Day about what has caught his attention with the players which he now oversees.

“One of the things that impressed me is how hard these kids are willing to work,” Creehan said. “They’ve been through a lot at this institution, from starting football in dirt lots and no locker rooms and a locker room that’s a bunch of hangers.

“These kids immediately embraced our culture as a coaching staff and what we tried to instill. They bought in to that culture and worked very hard. Some really good leaders, including Tre (Hawkins), have aided in that process.”

Hawkins, a senior defensive back, accompanied Creehan to represent the Scots at Media Day.

It was announced earlier in the day that Lyon was picked fifth in the preseason conference poll. The Scots finished 2017 with a 6-5 record, a winning campaign for a program in its third year since being reinstated after a 64-year hiatus.

Ignacio Gomez, or “Nacho” as Creehan said he is affectionately called, was named the SAC Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year. Gomez connected on 9-of-12 field goal attempts and 37-of-39 extra-point attempts in 2017 and averaged 39.5 yards per punt.

“There’s no kicker in college football I’d rather have than him,” Creehan said. “We’ve put some pressure on him during practice during times, in terms of, ‘You make this kick, no conditioning. You miss this kick, conditioning.’ And they weren’t always easy kicks and he nailed them.

“He did miss one time. And the message to the team that day was that if that ever happens to our football team, no one play ever determines the outcome of the game. At the end of the day, there’s no other kicker in the league I’d rather have on our side than Nacho.”

Playing under the new leadership, Creehan said it would be hard to say whether the team would hit the ground running, but he spoke about how he will address the team.

“My message to the team will be, ‘embrace the grind and cherish every day.’ Not everybody gets to play college football and playing at Lyon College is by invitational only.

“I just want for us as a coaching staff and as a football team to embrace the grind and to enjoy the process, to enjoy the journey with each other every day and to work hard every day. You’re never going to regret hard work. And I think if we do that, our success as individuals and our success as a group will take care of itself.”

Lyon opens the season in St. Louis, Mo., on Aug. 25 at Missouri Baptist. The Scots first home game will also be their first SAC contest as they host Arizona Christian on Sept. 15.

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SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. — While an 18-point second-half lead nearly evaporated, the John Brown University men’s basketball team hit 15-of-19 from the stripe in the second half to upset No. 7 Science & Arts (Okla.), 83-72, on Saturday afternoon inside Bill George Arena.

A 44.8 percent shooting mark in the first half (13-of-29) and 10 triples propelled the Golden Eagles (14-10, 8-7 Sooner Athletic) into what seemed to be an insurmountable lead at the half, 41-23. The Drovers (19-6, 10-6) shot just 29 percent through the first 20 minutes (9-of-31) and committed eight turnovers.

Junior Jake Caudle hit four triples and shot 5-of-8 from the field in the first half as JBU held Science & Arts to just six points over the final 10 minutes of the half.

Armed with a near 20-point lead to kick off the second half, the Drover offense came alive, fueled by six Greg Smith points. USAO retaliated and went on a 19-4 run over a 6:07 span to pull within three, 47-44, with 13:16 remaining. Brian Robertson’s triple attempt to tie the game wouldn’t fall, however, and from there, John Brown went on a run of its own.

It would be over four minutes until USAO scored it next point, allowing the hosts to pull away on a 14-0 run, jump-started by back-to-back buckets from freshman Jaylon Rucker. Rucker’s triple was followed by treys from junior Marquis Waller and Caudle, and even featured an old-fashioned three-point play from freshman Densier Carnes.

The closest the Drovers would get would be eight points, on four occasions, but the Golden Eagles shot 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the field and more importantly converted 15-of-19 attempts at the line in the second half. Caudle hit 7-of-8 chances at the stripe.

Thirteen second-half turnovers hampered what could have been an even larger margin of victory for John Brown, which captured its first win over a top-10 ranked opponent this season in the victory.

JBU received nine points apiece from junior Josh Bowling and sophomore Mateo Habazin, helping the hosts to a 31-9 bench-scoring advantage. Committing four more turnovers than USAO allowed the visitors an 18-8 advantage in points off miscues.

Caudle led all players with 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting and five triples. He also added four assists. Waller contributed 15 points and six rebounds and Carnes chipped in with seven points and six rebounds in the win. Both Bowling and Habazin pulled down a team-leading nine rebounds.

JBU dropped 16 dimes on its 24 field goals (66.7 percent) and finished with a 37-35 narrow rebounding advantage.

Smith scored 16 points and Brandon Scott added 14 for a Drover team that struggled with its shooting touch. USAO finished the contest making just 22-of-65 (33.8 percent) after entering the game as one of the conference leaders, making better than 46 percent through the first 24 games.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Tuesday at Bacone (Okla.) that previews a three-game week, highlighted by visits from Texas Wesleyan and Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

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SILOAM SPRINGS – Oklahoma City University held off a second-half rally from John Brown and secured its third straight win, knocking off the Golden Eagles 65-60 on Saturday at Bill George Arena.

Oklahoma City, ranked eighth in the latest NAIA Division I women’s basketball poll, improved to 9-2 overall and 3-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. John Brown, slotted at No. 18 in the latest poll, fell to 7-4 on the year and 2-1 in the SAC. Daniela Galindo, a senior from Shattuck, Okla., finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals.

“When you play John Brown here, this is what you get – you have to be very patient not only on offense but also on defense because they average 11 threes a game,” OCU head coach Bo Overton said. “We’ve been used to seeing Daniela carry us and carry us and I thought today it was great for our team to see we can win games without her scoring 30 points.”

Galindo sparked the Stars on offense with 14 of her 16 points in the first half. On the defensive end of the court, OCU kept the John Brown offense in check, forcing 11 turnovers and holding the Golden Eagles to 29.6 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from behind the arc in the first half. Oklahoma City outscored JBU 15-7 in the second quarter and led by a dozen at the break.

The Golden Eagles bounced back from their shooting slump and began the third quarter on a 12-3 run, knocking down four straight triples. OCU was unable to slow down the John Brown offense for much of the third quarter, getting outscored 23-15. JBU, the No. 1 team in NAIA Division I in 3-point percentage and 3’s made per game, buried nine treys in the second half and finished the game shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Oklahoma City surrendered its lead for the first time all day when the Golden Eagles got a bucket with just under four and a half minutes to play, but immediately responded with a 7-3 run to regain control. The Stars tightened up on the defensive end and got a key offensive rebound from Alexis Hill with seven seconds left to secure the win.

Michaela Kay, a junior from Spokane, Wash., added 13 points for OCU. Taylor LaCour, a junior from Georgetown, Texas, supplied the Stars with 12 point and two boards. Also scoring in double figures for OCU was Brooke Irwin, who finished with 10 points and five rebounds. NaShyla Hammons had four points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Ridell Camidge went off for a season-best 42 points and carried Oklahoma City University to a 103-95 overtime victory over John Brown on Saturday at Bill George Arena.

Oklahoma City, ranked 23rd in the latest NAIA Division I men’s college basketball poll, went to 8-2 on the year and 2-1 in Sooner Athletic Conference play. John Brown fell to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in SAC play. Camidge, a senior from Wilmington, N.C., finished 14-of-22 shooting and buried seven 3’s in the win.

“I thought we did a great job in the first half defending them,” OCU head coach Vinay Patel said. “I give these kids credit because they fought through a lot of adversity. Ridell got off to a great start, I thought he had one really good look early and it fell and when that happens sometimes he can do this.”

The Golden Eagles blitzed OCU in the early going of the first half, hitting three triples and jumping to a 14-4 lead five minutes into Saturday’s contest. Oklahoma City responded with a 21-5 run to regain momentum and continued to feed the hot hand of Camidge, who finished with 21 points in the game’s first 20 minutes.

The Stars shot 55.6 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc, while JBU finished the first half shooting just 31.0 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from 3-point range. Oklahoma City led John Brown 39-29 at the half.

JBU began the second half in attack mode and went on a 17-4 run, cutting the OCU lead to one with about 12 minutes to go. The two teams traded baskets the rest of the way, with John Brown hitting the tying shot with four seconds left. The Stars’ Terence Bonhomme hoisted up a runner at the top of the key to win the game, but the shot clanked off the rim and the game went to overtime.

Oklahoma City’s offense stayed warm in the five-minute overtime period, as the Stars got timely buckets and outscored the Golden Eagles 18-10 to earn the teams’ second consecutive win. OCU finished Saturday’s game shooting 50.0 percent and outrebounded John Brown opponent 39-24.

Samuel Williams, a senior from Reno, Nev., added 27 points and 12 rebounds in the win, his second double-double of the season. Ivan Saicic, a senior from Belgrade, Serbia, tallied eight points and 11 rebounds for the Stars.

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SILOAM SPRINGS — Sophomore Carly McKinney and Jessica Meyer combined for 23 kills and the John Brown University offense chugged along at a .346 percentage as the Golden Eagles made quick work of Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday morning (Oct. 7), downing the Aggies in straight sets inside Bill George Arena.

Coming just 14 hours after the Golden Eagles (18-5, 7-2 Sooner Athletic) dispatched Wayland Baptist (Texas) in dramatic fashion, John Brown withstood early errors in the first set and found cruise control to take out the Aggies 25-17, 25-9, 25-12, to kick off Homecoming 2017 festivities in enjoyable fashion.

McKinney’s eighth double-double powered the JBU offense, aided by 13 digs and a pair of blocks. Meyer’s 11 terminations came on a .474 hitting percentage as she added four blocks in the win.

Junior Bayli Reagan pieced together one of her finest outings of the season, notching eight kills without committing an error (8-0-24) and sophomore Kinzee Mayo contributed a career-high seven kills, hitting .600 (7-1-10) on the match.

“I’m really proud of how our team came out this morning and played in a short turn around situation,” head coach Ken Carver commented. “Both teams played five-set matches last night, so energy and the ability to focus were going to be primary factors in the winning team’s success in the match. Our team came out with a different focus and energy due to our pre-match activities and was able to translate those things into very positive and efficient results.

“We were able to execute in all facets of the game and where we struggled with consistency last night, we played very steady and effectively this morning. Our offense output was in balance due to our consistency in serve-receive where Alyssa (Arnold) was able to run a lot more combination plays, which confused OPSU’s defense.”

Senior Alyssa Arnold finished with 37 assists, totaling 81 this weekend, and added a pair of service aces. Senior Beth Brankle led all players with 17 digs while posting a trio of helpers.

Eight John Brown blocks and 55 digs led to a difficult offensive effort from the Aggies (5-12, 3-6), which hit an even .000 (19-19-98). The Golden Eagles responded with a .346 effort (46-10-104), its fourth-best output in a single match this season.

Summer Middleton led OPSU with four kills and 10 digs. Gabby Cruz added 13 assists and six scoops.

JBU will now travel to Oklahoma City for a pair of weekend tilts with Science & Arts (Okla.) and Mid-Amerca Christian (Okla.) on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

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