The Golden Eagles will take on Science and Arts of Oklahoma and Southern Nazarene this weekend for the last two games of the regular season.
JBU is No. 13 in the NAIA and are second in the Sooner Athletic Conference with a record of 22-6, 14-6 in conference.
If the Eagles, who are currently tied with Rogers State (Texas) in the SAC, can get two more wins this weekend, their position will be secured for the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on March 1.
If the teams are tied going into the SAC Tournament, Rogers will in the tie-breaker since they beat JBU twice earlier in the season.
“This time of year, everybody is playing for something,” said men’s head coach Clark Sheehy. He also said the SAC commissioner and other coaches in the conference said this is the most balanced the teams have ever been.
Their position in the tournament was threatened last weekend after a 87-59 loss to Mid-America Christian on Thursday night. This loss was JBU’s worst of the season and broke their eight-game winning streak.
The Eagles came back from this loss on the road to beat Oklahoma City 71-68. It was a close match, with 13 ties over the course of the game with each team never leading by more than five points.
After last weekend’s contests, senior forward Adrian Miller continues to be JBU’s leading shooter with 15 points per game followed by fellow senior forward Andy Garcia with 11.6 points per game. Garcia leads in rebounds with 7.5 per game followed by Miller with 6.3.
Miller also leads JBU in steals and rebounds while Garcia leads in blocks.
The conference’s top rebounder is USAO’s freshman forward Kyle Hunt, averaging 10.6 per game. Hunt is also USAO’s leading scorer with 18 points per game.
The Eagles will face USAO tonight at home. The Drovers are currently sixth in the SAC with a record of 14-12, 10-10 in conference.
The last time USAO and JBU met, the game ended in a six-point win for the Eagles.
After JBU faces USAO, they will take to the road to face No. 29 SNU on Saturday for their final game of the regular season.
The Storm are currently fourth in the SAC with a record of 20-8, 13-7 in conference. Earlier this season JBU, SNU and Rogers State (Texas) were all tied for the second seed in the SAC.
This game will the Storm’s last chance to move up in the conference before post-season play begins. Sheehy said SNU is a very athletic team with a strong offense.
Junior guard Ryan Aaron is currently SNU’s leading scorer with 15.7 points per game followed by senior guard Daniel White 13.2. Sophomore forward Horace McGloster leads the Storm in rebounds with 6.6 per game followed by White with 5.9.
Their last game resulted in a 75-61 win for the Golden Eagles.
The Eagles will face USAO tonight at 8 p.m.