John Brown men go 0 for 2 in Texas

■ The Golden Eagles lost Saturday’s game at Texas Wesleyan.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Finally featuring a full lineup, unlike the teams’ last meeting in January, the John Brown men’s basketball team hoped to salvage a split on its Texas roadtrip.

But the Golden Eagles shot only 32 percent from the floor as Texas Wesleyan took a 69-58 decision on Saturday afternoon inside the Sid Richardson Center.

The win completed the season sweep for the Rams, who defeated a short-handed JBU squad 78-48 on Jan. 14 at Bill George Arena.

After taking a 5-2 lead early in Saturday’s contest, the Golden

I love the mindset of our guys after the game, really understanding what needs to be done for us to continue to take steps and improve, as well as taking responsibility for things we need to do better.”

— Jason Beschta, John Brown University men’s basketball head coach

Eagles (5-6, 5-6 Sooner Athletic) hit a 1 of 11 slump from the field while the hosts rallied on an 18-4 run and pulled away for good.

Senior Densier Carnes netted a game-high 21 points, 11 coming at the stripe, while junior Luke Harper added 13 points. Sophomore D.J. Ellis came off the bench to provide 10 in the setback.

“Our effort defensively was so much better today than (Friday) night (at Southwestern Assemblies of God),” head coach Jason Beschta said, referencing a 9987 Friday at SAGU. “Wesleyan has such a potent offense, and we were able to keep the game more low-scoring. However, after shooting the ball so well last night, we struggled to make shots tonight.

“When you look at our effort defensively and see how we were able to really limit some of their better scores, including holding (Vydal) Bradford him to zero points and five turnovers — and he is one of the best offense of players in the league. I love the mindset of our guys after the game, really understanding what needs to be done for us to continue to take steps and improve, as well as taking responsibility for things we need to do better.”

JBU finished the contest 19 of 60 from the field (32 percent) and struggled from behind the arc, connecting on just 6 of 32. The Rams also won the battle on the glass, 41-31, and converted 11 offensive boards into 12 second-chance points.

Peyton Sallee and Sebastian Karwoski each poured in 14 points to pace Wesleyan (10-4, 6-4), while Elijah Elliott came off the bench to contribute 13 in the Rams’ effort to end a two-game losing skid.

The JBU men was scheduled to return to action on Tuesday against No. 12 Science & Arts (Okla.) at Bill George Arena. That game was canceled because of winter weather.

The Golden Eagles are back in aciton on Thursday at Southwestern Christian (Okla.).