Sweep in Oklahoma
JBU basketball teams win at Panhandle State
The No. 10 John Brown University men’s basketball team (18-2, 9-1 Sooner Athletic) will return to Bill George Arena on Thursday to face No. 2 Mid-America Christian (19-0, 10-0) in a battle of top-10 teams as the squads vie for the top spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference heading down the stretch of the regular season.
The contest is scheduled for a 7:45 p.m. tip as the Golden Eagles look to avenge a loss to MACU in Oklahoma City earlier in January.
Thursday’s contest will be the second of a home-and-home with the Evangels, with MACU claiming a 73-59 win back on Jan. 4 inside the Gaulke Activity Center. Notably, John Brown was without senior forward and, at that point, secondleading scorer Quintin Bailey. Without its reliable inside presence, JBU was forced into more perimeter shots — which didn’t fall — as the visitors shot under 40 percent and produced its lowest-scoring output of the season. On defense, the Evangels worked inside and took advantage of a parade to the foul line, hitting 24-of-29 at the stripe to provide a sizable scoring margin. John Brown attempted only 12 in the game.
This time around, however, the Golden Eagles are healthy and playing their best basketball of the season. Junior forward and double-double machine Densier Carnes has posted four consecutive double-doubles and averaging
26 points and 12 rebounds — including a career-high 32 points in a win over Oklahoma City. Since the loss at MACU, John Brown has rattled off six straight wins, including four on the road. Now with Bailey back in the lineup, the formidable JBU offense includes four players that average double-digit scoring — led by sophomore Luke Harper’s 17.5 per game. During the win streak, Harper posted a careerhigh 39 points in John Brown’s win at Langston. Carnes is second with 14.4 points per night, in addition to his 9.2 rebounds a game, which is 10th-best nationwide. Junior Rokas Grabliauskas and Bailey each contribute just over 10 points a game.
While the offense has scored over 90 points seven times this season, the hallmark of the Golden Eagles’ success has been team defense. John Brown allows a meager 65.2 points per game, which is the sixth-best defensive effort in the nation. Ten times already this season the Golden Eagle defense has held the opponent to 60 points or fewer – and a big piece of the success is the rebounding effort. JBU out-rebounds teams by an average north of eight caroms per game and are second in the nation in average defensive rebounds per game (28.0).
The Evangels invade Bill George Arena with an undefeated record (MACU’s result at Science & Arts on Tuesday night were not available at press time), led by Ashford Golden’s 17.6 points per game.
Golden paces an offense that is the fifthhighest scoring in the nation (92.9 points per game) and averages a near 20-point scoring margin. Cedric Wright’s 16.1 points per game output is near sharp-shooter status as he converts field goals at a 72.2 percent efficiency. MACU has five top-10 victories this season as the Golden Eagles look to stop that streak.