Golden Eagles win at OPSU
■ JBU’s men are off to best 20-game start since 201213 season.
GOODWELL, Okla. — Sophomore Luke Harper hit back-toback triples to cap a 21-4 run after halftime and the Golden Eagles turned a five-point halftime lead into a blowout victory as the No. 10 John Brown University men’s basketball team handed Oklahoma Panhandle State a 94-68 decision on Saturday afternoon inside Anchor D Arena.
Harper was unstoppable in the second half, shooting 5 of 6 from the field, including 4 of 4 behind the arc, while junior Densier Carnes continued his incredible streak of double-doubles to four consecutive games.
The Golden Eagles (18-2, 9-1 Sooner Athletic) — who have won six straight games — are now out to their best 20-game start since 2012-13, when John Brown started out 17-3. That was the last season John Brown captured the Sooner Athletic regular season title.
Panhandle State (4-14, 0-10) actually shot very well, including 54 percent in the first half. Although the Aggies hit 6 of 9 from behind the arc through the first 20 minutes, the hosts still couldn’t regain any type of lead or momentum after losing its modest four-point advantage early in the contest. OPSU hit 22 of 45 from the floor (49 percent) but was undone by 19 turnovers and a 1 of 8 effort from three in the second half.
Carnes led all scorers with 22 points, while Harper finished with 17. Three other Golden Eagles finished in double-digit range, including an efficient 5 of 9 effort from senior Quintin Bailey that resulted in 14 points, including a pair of blocks. Junior Rokas Grabliauskas contributed 11 points and freshman James Beckom came off the bench to contribute 10 on a 6 of 8 effort from the charity stripe.
“We always talk about how Saturday games usually come down to which team will be the tougher team,” head coach Jason Beschta said. “When you don’t have time to do much on Friday, can we be ready to make plays and make adjustments on Saturday when we need to? I think after not getting enough defensive stops and allowing penetration, which ended up in threes in the first half, we owned up to the changes we had to make and did it. I was really proud of the way we responded today in the second half.
“It’s an accomplishment to come out of this long road trip with a pair of victories. We’re excited to start the second half
of conference play now, and it’s going to be a battle all the way to the end.”
Alongside three Harper treys, Carnes and sophomore Ira Perrier each hit triples in the pivotal 21-4 rally to kick off the second half. Bailey added a pair of layups as he took advantage of the John Brown ball movement and size advantage in the paint.
DK Sumo hit 7 of 16 from the field to lead all Aggies in scoring with 16 points. Auston Chatman contributed a perfect shooting night, 4 of 4 from the field including three triples, to finish with 15 points and seven rebounds while Jalen Williams added 14 points. Before fouling out, Quentin Fankhouser scored 11.
While the John Brown defense gave up three more points this afternoon than its average allowance, the Golden Eagle offense saw production from 10 different players, including a pair of first-half triples from Adam Asgeirsson and a three-pointer from deep in the corner by freshman Kobe Robinson in the final minute of play. JBU finished scoring 15 points more than its average output. Coupled with Panhandle’s 13 secondhalf turnovers, John Brown etched its sixth-straight victory and pulled out a sweep of the longest SAC road trip of the season.