Hot-shooting JBU men roll over Panhandle State

GOODWELL, Okla. — Freshman Densier Carnes scored 13 points and secured 11 rebounds, nabbing his first-career doubledouble, and the John Brown University men’s basketball team rode a quartet of doubledigit scorers to an overwhelming 96-54 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State inside the Oscar Williams Fieldhouse on Thursday.

On a night that saw the Golden Eagles (16-12, 10-9 Sooner Athletic Conference) race out to a 9-0 lead and never trail, JBU shot 52.7 percent from the floor (39-of-74) and connected on 13 triples to overwhelm the hosts. The Aggies (11-16, 4-15) have lost nine straight, and were limited to 23.2 percent overall from the field (16-of-69), JBU’s second-best defensive effort of the season.

Junior Josh Bowling hit 6-of11 shots to score a team-high 15 points while freshman Darrell Jones shot an efficient 6 of 8 from the floor to contribute 14 points, a career-high, while hitting 2 of 3 from behind the arc. Freshman Rokas Grabliauskas knocked down 4 of 5 shots to finish with 10 as leading scorer junior Jake Caudle enjoyed some rest, playing just 22 minutes as each Golden Eagles player on the roster saw time on the court.

The poor shooting night from OPSU helped John Brown collect a season-best 54 rebounds, including 10 offensive. JBU dominated the paint, 44-16, and riding a deep bench effort, outscored the hosts 39-16 in the battle of the reserves.

“It was great being able to play everyone tonight and no one had to shoulder big minutes,” said JBU coach Jason Beschta. “We have a chance to be a little more fresh in our matchup with Wayland on Saturday.

“We continue to play better and better overall – we’re peaking at the right time. Some of our guys are stepping up huge. Densier (Carnes) had a nice double-double and Darrell (Jones) scored well tonight. We made a lot of good decisions with the basketball tonight, and that’s always fun to see.”

Tyler Pate scored 18 for Panhandle State and Jaedon Whitfield contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the season.

John Brown closed the regular season on Saturday at Wayland Baptist (Texas). Results were not available at presstime.