FORT WORTH, Texas -- Sophomore Trae Oetting poured in a game-high 23 points, including 13 made free throws, as the John Brown University men's basketball team fought off a late push from Texas Wesleyan to secure a 76-70 victory in Sooner Athletic action on Thursday night (Feb. 6) inside the Sid Richardson Center.
The Golden Eagles (15-8, 13-6 Sooner Athletic) converted a season-best 26 free throws on 31 attempts (84 percent), and used a 15-0 run midway through the second half to open up a 62-47 lead that it wouldn't relinquish over the final six minutes of action, earning the season split with the Rams (14-8, 10-8).
Oetting's 23 points came on just eight shot attempts, as the senior went 13-of-15 – a career-high – from the free-throw line and added eight rebounds and two assists. Senior Drew Miller followed with 13 points and three rebounds, while freshman Carter Carbonell provided yet another sharpshooting spark off the bench, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc – capping off his second-straight double-digit scoring effort.
John Brown finished the game shooting 43 percent (21-of-49) from the field and knocked down eight three-pointers at a 33 percent clip. The visitors' reserves outscored the Rams in bench, 26-4.
Junior Elijah Lawrence added eight points and four rebounds, while JBU's defensive effort held Texas Wesleyan to just 3-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc (19 percent), improving the Blue and Gold to 9-1 when holding opponents to 70 points or fewer.
"We really locked in defensively tonight from the beginning and turned in one of our best defensive efforts of the season," head coach Jason Beschta noted. "We really battled against a big and athletic Texas Wesleyan team and forced them to take some really difficult shots.
"We showed great poise with the ball on offense against their pressure and had some guys hit some really timely shots, as well as knocking down our free throws to hold them off. It was great to see this team continue to grow and believe in each other."
The Golden Eagles are now deadlocked into a three-way tie for third place in the SAC standings with Langston (Okla.) and Wayland Baptist (Texas) with five games remaining in the regular season.
The John Brown defense held the Rams to a 33 percent shooting mark in the first half and built a 14-point lead, 29-15, with just under three minutes left to play. With a 33-25 lead at the half, the Golden Eagles saw a comeback to begin the second half.
A 12-3 Rams run to begin the second frame wiped out the JBU advantage, and began a span of six lead changes over the next four minutes. Then, Miller, Carbonell and Oetting (from the charity stripe) each contributed triples as the Golden Eagles ran off a 15-0 rally – helped by a pair of layups from freshman Jack Ullom and Lawrence. The run broke a 47-all lead, and with hitting 12-of-14 from the free-throw line down the stretch, and JBU picked up its fourth win in 13 chances at the Sid Richardson since 2014.
Texas Wesleyan was led by Vegas Evans, who posted 18 points and nine rebounds, while Trey Sinegal added 14 points and seven rebounds, including an 8-of-11 effort from the free-throw line. Richard Amaefule chipped in 16 points and five rebounds in the loss.
John Brown will close out the road trip on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 8) in Chickasha, Okla. in a 3:45 p.m. tilt at Science & Arts. The game will be streamed live on the SAC Sports Network.
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