JBU men win second straight

The John Brown men’s basketball team is finally healthy and the results are starting to show.

The Golden Eagles won their second straight game Saturday, this time taking down Texas Wesleyan 83-79 in front of a lively crowd inside Bill George Arena.

On Thursday, Jan. 19, the Golden Eagles blew past Science & Arts (Okla.) in Chickasha, Okla., 90-63, and on Saturday they led most of the way against a bigger, more physical Rams squad.

John Brown improved to 6-13 overall and 4-9 in Sooner Athletic Conference play with eight games remaining.

“It’s a hunt, we’re on the cusp,” said JBU coach Jason Beschta. “The great thing is we’ve got a long ways to go. … Both of these teams (Science & Arts and Texas Wesleyan) have been really good. Science has been really hot and Wesleyan has won five of its last six. They’ve been shooting the snot out of the ball.”

Texas Wesleyan (11-9, 8-6) may have come in hot, but the Rams cooled considerably against the Golden Eagles’ 3-point defense.

Texas Wesleyan shot 4 of 23 (17.4 percent) from behind the 3-point line after a 1 for 17 start.

“We just played terribly undisciplined,” said Texas Wesleyan coach Brennan Shingleton. “This is our fifth game in 10 days, and so we were a little tired.”

The Rams were without injured guard Peyton Sallee, who averages 14.3 points per game and shoots 39.7 percent from long range and would have helped, Shingleton said.

But the Texas Wesleyan coach praised the Golden Eagles’ effort as well.

“I mean all the credit to John Brown,” Shingleton said. “They’re playing well at the right time. Obviously they played well Thursday and carried over to tonight, so they were looking for confidence and they found it, and credit to them, they just played well.”