SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Although the Golden Eagles still do not have a determined seed in the upcoming Sooner Athletic tournament, the No. 23 John Brown University men's basketball team took a step closer to the second seed with a 91-71 drubbing of Langston (Okla.) on Thursday (Feb. 21) night inside Bill George Arena.
Shooting 53 percent from the floor in both halves, John Brown (20-9, 14-7 Sooner Athletic) led the contest wire-to-wire and build up as high a lead as 34 midway through the second half.
It wasn't just the Golden Eagle offense on display in the home regular season finale, the defense held the Lions (20-9, 12-9) to its lowest scoring output in eight contests.
"It was just unbelievable the way we defended in the first half," head coach Jason Beschta admitted. "We allowed them to get zero offensive rebounds in the first half and that was huge for us."
While JBU had four double-digit scorers in the first half alone, the hosts, behind forcing 10 turnovers, nearly doubled Langston with a halftime lead of 52-28.
Leading 13-11, a Josh Bowling triple jump-started a 22-9 run that pulled the hosts away from the Lions for good.
Seniors Jake Caudle and Josh Bowling led the way for the John Brown offense – with Caudle hitting 8-of-11 from the field to net 21 points, his second-straight 20-point outing and eighth of the season. Bowling hit a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe to score 18 and grabbed six boards.
Freshman Luke Harper and sophomore Densier Carnes each posted their season-best scoring outputs, as Harper hit 4-of-6 behind the arc to contribute 18 points and Carnes converted on 6-of-10 from the field to notch 15 points and seven rebounds – including a pair of triples.
JBU hit 11-of-25 from behind the arc (44 percent) and ended the night 18-of-21 (86 percent) at the line.
Jorori Coleman led Langston with 13 points, while Tyrone Killings Jr. and Alfonzo Anderson each added 11 points in the loss for Langston, which suffered the season sweep at the hands of the Golden Eagles.
While JBU has locked in a home date in the Sooner Athletic quarterfinals on Feb. 26, its opponent is yet to be determined as a lot will come down to the final contests of the season on Saturday (Feb. 23).
John Brown will finish the regular season in McPherson, Kan. where the Golden Eagles will travel to take on Central Christian at 4 p.m.
Regardless of the outcome, this has been John Brown's most successful season since 2012-13 in terms of wins and conference finish. Six years ago, JBU ended the year 28-7 and won the SAC regular season title with a 12-4 league record.
