Article by Chad Clevenger
Siloam Springs, Ark. - In a hard-fought battle on Thursday, the Central Christian College Tigers narrowly fell to the John Brown University Golden Eagles, 77-71. Despite a strong first half and the Tigers leading for most of the 2^nd half, a 12-0 run in the final minutes by John Brown, kept the Golden Eagles atop of the SAC standings as the Tigers lost to John Brown on Thursday night.
 
Central Christian led 34-33 at the break, with their largest lead growing to 13 points at one point in the first half. Omari Maulana and Chris Whitten paced the Tigers offensively, each finishing with 19 points. Jevarrick Butler provided a spark off the bench, contributing 14 points to the effort. Travis King came up big in the rebounding department, leading the Tigers with 6 boards, while also adding a basket to the scoreline.
 
Following a Butler bucket with 6:22 remaining, the Tigers led 60-57. However The Tigers were unable to withstand a late 12-0 surge by John Brown, that ended with a Jaeden Whitten basket with 1:41 remaining, that saw the Tigers down 69-62. The nearly 5 minute stretch had put the Tigers in a hole they could not get out of in the final 1:41.
 
The Golden Eagles, who sit in 1st place in the SAC Conference, proved why they are atop the standings, pulling away late to secure the victory. Central Christian's strong effort wasn't quite enough to topple the conference leaders.
 
Tiger Leaders:
Points: Chris Whitten (15), Omari Maulana (15)
Rebounds: Travis King (6)
Assists: Malachi Farr (4)
Steals: Andre Sheby (3)
Blocks: Andre Shelby (1)
 
The Tigers will look to regroup as they prepare for their next home game on Farmers Alliance Family Day, as they will take on the College of the Ozarks, with tipoff scheduled for 3:45 PM. The game can also be seen on the SAC Sports Network.