Dallas, TX– In their first home contest of the new year, the UNTD (2-7, 1-5) men's basketball team loses another close Sooner Athletic Conference battle against the Eagles (7-4, 5-1). In a game where the lead on either side got to double digits, this hard fought battle came down to extra time where the Eagles edged the Trailblazers 7-6 in OT to win 65-64.

In the first half, JBU held its largest lead of 8 points with 4:36 to go in the first half with Malachi Reeves leading the way with 8 points and 4 rebounds. The Trailblazers, in the first half were led by Tariq Aman, leading all scorers with 11 points before the break. While UNTD shot over 10% better from the floor in the first half holding the Eagles to shooting 37% from the field, JBU was able to get to the FT line 9 times and out rebounded UNTD 24-12 and took a 35-29 lead into the half.

In the second half, the Trailblazers outscored the Eagles 29-26 lead by Connor Kern's 9 second half points and 4 rebounds. The Trailblazers took a 58-55 lead with 1:18 to go in the game, but Malachi Reeves hits a 3-point basket with 1:05 remaining to tie the game. In the last minute, neither team could score leading the game into overtime.

JBU took a 5-0 OT run and never looked back as the Trailblazers couldn't overcome that deficit, losing by 1 point. 

Vernon Johnson of UNTD and Drew Johnson of JBU led all scorers with 16 points. Johnson, the junior from Desoto, TX, shot 6-11 from the field, hauled in 9 rebounds and had 7 assists in 40 minutes of play. Tariq Aman added 15 points on 6-13 shooting from the field in his 40 minutes of play. 

For JBU, in addition to Miller, Tyren Collins, Malachi Reeves and Lukas Gabani all chipped in double digit points for the Eagles.


UNTD finishes the weekend hosting the Stars of Oklahoma City University at Trinity Basin. Tip off is approximately 3:45pm at the conclusion of the women's game.