JBU men pick up road win at Central Christian

McPHERSON, Kan. — The John Brown University men’s basketball team began its tough stretch of play with a 78-67 road victory over Central Christian on Friday night at James Alexander Arena.

The Golden Eagles (4-4, 4-4 Sooner Athletic) shot 48.1 percent (26 of 54) from the field but could not find any rhythm behind the arc, converting just 21.1 percent (4 of 19) from long range.

Junior Luke Harper’s 21 points and a season-high 14 points from senior Brenton Toussaint was more than enough to move John Brown to 3-2 on the year away from Siloam Springs.

Senior Densier Carnes became the 30th Golden Eagle in program history to eclipse the 1,000 careerpoint mark after his drive into the paint in the second half fell. He would eventually finish the contest with 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting night.

Junior Ira Perrier contributed six points and added seven rebounds as he continues to lead the Golden Eagle rebounding effort — averaging 6.8 caroms a game.

Toussaint scored 10 of his 14 in the first half, and seven of his 10 in the first stanza during a key stretch that saw JBU holding to a mere five-point lead, 19-14. Over the next 6 minutes, 3 seconds, Toussaint’s seven points ignited a 15-5 John Brown rally that blew open the game to a 13-point lead, 32-19. Central Christian struggled with a 2 of 10 mark from the floor and a pair of turnovers during the stretch.

While the host Tigers didn’t lead after taking a 3-2 advantage in the early moments of the evening, the Golden Eagles didn’t take full control of the contest until a Harper’s triple, followed by a mid-range floater built a 17-point lead for the visitors, 51-34.

Central Christian’s Isaiah Rivers poured in a gamebest 31 points, but no other Tiger could find double-figure scoring, save for Darrell Bryant’s 10-point outing.

The hosts were limited to just 38 percent from the field and 6 of 25 from deep. Sixteen turnovers and a 4020 John Brown advantage in the paint gave the Tigers little chance at returning from 17 down with just 15 minutes left in the contest.

“I thought our focus from the beginning was really good,” head coach Jason Beschta said. “We were locked in defensively and got off to a great start and then really executed well on the offensive end.

It was great to see Brent so aggressive early on. He made an impact by getting us some easy baskets around the rim just start the game.

For a night where we didn’t really shoot the ball well from the outside, I thought we really attacked the paint well — whether off the dribble or guys cutting or slipping the screen. We did a good job making little adjustments as the game went on, because Central Christian really moved the ball well against us and kept screening and cutting better than anyone we’ve seen so far this year.

“One of the things I love about this group is the resilience of the guys. Someone can come in and make a mistake or not be at their best, and then the next chance they get, they are ready, focused on the next play.

Special teams are made up of special players, and I want to congratulate Densier for breaking the 1,000-point mark tonight. What an incredible accomplishment that speaks volumes of how much he has put into this game and the levels of improvement over the last few years. What’s even more exciting is he’s capable of getting even better - can’t wait to see that as we continue forward.”

John Brown was scheduled to play at Langston (Okla.) on Saturday afternoon. Results were not available at presstime.

The Golden Eagles return home at Bill George Area at 7:45 p.m. Monday to face Central Christian.