Clarksville, Ark.-The Eagles won their fourth straight league game and picked up their fifth win in their last six tries with a 71-62 road win over Louisiana College on Thursday night in American Southwest Conference play.
The Eagles (11-7, 11-4) fought off a late second half Wildcat (4-13, 4-10) comeback to inch closer to securing a spot in the playoffs. It is the first time the Eagles have won four consecutive conference games since the 2001-2002 season. The game also saw senior guard Brad Johnson break the school’s all-time steals record. Johnson needed 6 steals to break the record, but had 7 swipes in the contest, with his record-breaking steal coming at the 19:39 mark of the second half. Johnson owns the record with 206 career steals. Louisiana College held just one lead in the game and the Eagles held a double-digit cushion for most of the second half, but the Wildcats stormed back to tie the contest at 58-58 with 3:29 remaining. It was Johnson that would complete a three-point play on Ozarks next possession to start a 13-4 run to close out the game. Jacob Sibley hit a basket and made 6-of-6 free throws down the stretch while Johnson would hit a pair at the charity stripe to help the cause. Sibley finished with a team-high 13 points. Habeeb Kareem had his seventh double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Joyner scored 11 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Ozarks will travel to Clinton, Mississippi, to face Mississippi College on January 28. Mississippi College leads the ASC East Division with a 16-1 overall mark and a 13-1 league record.
Topics: Athletics