The JBU men's basketball team closed out their season after falling 71-66 to Southern Polytechnic State (Ga.) during the quarterfinal round of the 2010 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Tournament. 

After building a 36-30 halftime lead, John Brown opened up a double-digit lead early in the second half. The Golden Eagles used an 11-2 run to grab its largest lead of the contest, 52-37, with 14:42 remaining. Trailing 59-47, Southern Polytechnic started its game-closing run. The Hornets held John Brown without a field goal for more than eight minutes down the stretch, using a 14-1 run to grab its first lead of the half at 61-60. Junior guard Quincy Hall capped the comeback by making two free throws with 3:12 to play.

Senior forward Davaughn Jackson hit two free throws on John Brown's next possession to help the Golden Eagles regain the lead at 62-61. But Southern Polytechnic scored the next six points to take the lead for good. The Hornets were solid from the free throw line down the stretch, hitting all six of their attempts from the stripe in the final 32 seconds of play. In the second half, Southern Polytechnic was 16-of-19 from the foul line (84.2 percent).

Southern Polytechnic led in the early stages of the first half before John Brown ripped off a 17-4 run to take a 31-20 lead with just over six minutes left in the period. The Hornets slowly chipped away at the deficit, using free throws by Lemons and Rogers in the final minute to trim the deficit to six points at the intermission.

Sophomore guard Abel Galliguez led a balanced effort for John Brown with 15 points and three assists. Jackson added 14 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore forward Adrian Miller posted 10 points. Junior forward Sam Bartlett matched Jackson with a nine rebounds for the Golden Eagles, who finish the year with a single season record of 26-10.

Senior guard Jas Rogers led the way for Southern Polytechnic with 22 points and five steals. Junior guard Xavier Dawson connected for 16 points, while junior guard Jordan Lemons contributed eight points and a team-leading eight rebounds for the Hornets.

The Hornets, now 29-5 overall, will play in a national semifinal contest Monday at 6 p.m. CT against Azusa Pacific University (Calif.).