Harper sizzles as JBU wins at Langston
LANGSTON, Okla. — Sophomore Luke Harper poured in a career-high 39 points and an astounding 24-0 run to open the contest, which was enough for the Golden Eagles, as the No. 10 John Brown University men’s basketball team took an 81-70 win against Langston (Okla.) inside C.F. Gayles Fieldhouse on Monday afternoon.
Harper nearly became the first Golden Eagle to eclipse the 40-point mark since Griffin Brady’s 41-point outing at College of the Ozarks (Mo.) on Nov. 17, 2015.
“So proud of our effort today going on the road and beating
a tough Langston team,” head coach Jason Beschta said. “We jumped on them from the start. We had a stretch in the first half where we couldn’t stop them, but I was really impressed with what we did today, especially without two starters in the lineup. Different guys had to step in and fill the voids and they did.
“Luke was unbelievable today. He played with such confidence, which is great because we believe in him. We made enough defensive plays down the stretch and we took care of the basketball, limiting their pressure and trapping — which kept them from getting easy baskets in transition.”
Harper caught fire early, hitting a triple followed by a basket-and-one on the next possession. Four points from freshman Nathan Stolz was followed by another Harper triple, pushing the visitor’s lead to 15-0. Yet another triple from Harper and a pair of free throws gave way to back-to-back field goals from junior Kiree Hutchings, which officially pushed the contest to 24-0 with 11:34 left in the first half.
While Langston finally rid itself of the doughnut on the board, the hosts whittled the Golden Eagle lead down to 12, 33-21, before Hutchings converted a strong and-one to begin another run for the visitors. Harper returned to the contest as he and junior Densier Carnes each hit buckets before a last Hutchings triple ended the first half on a 12-2 run for the Golden Eagles, rebuilding a 22-point lead at the halftime, 45-23.
Harper, with 22 points in the first 20 minutes, nearly out-scored the entire Langston squad on his own, while he and Hutchings (10 points) figured in double-digit scoring in the first half alone. The visitors shot a scorching 63 percent from the floor (17of-27), including five triples.
Langston responded in the second half however, equaling its 23-point firsthalf output within the first 10 minutes of play in the latter period.
A quick 7-2 run turned a 14-point contest to just a three possession game as the Lions pulled within nine, 62-53. The John Brown leading scorer again had to take over, hitting a pair at the line, a floating jumper and a triple in consecutive possessions to push the lead back to 13, 69-56, with just over five minutes remaining in the contest.
Harper paced John Brown (14-2, 5-1) by hitting 14-of-23 from the field, including four triples, and a perfect 7-of-7 afternoon from the charity stripe. He also pulled down a team-high seven boards as JBU is still without the services of senior Quintin Bailey. Hutchings finished with 12 points on a 5-of-11 afternoon and Carnes contributed 10 on a 4-of-4 effort from the line.
John Brown returns to the hardwood on Thursday evening at Southwestern Christian (Okla.) to continue its three-game week. Tip is slated for 7:45 p.m. in Bethany, Okla.