Basketball season at John Brown University is in full swing, and both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are a little over halfway into their Sooner Athletic Conference schedules. Much like last year, the month of January has presented its share of challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic that the teams have had to work around. Despite that, both squads are finding ways to stay competitive.
The 2021 side of the season was a mixed bag for the women’s basketball team, led by head coach Jeff Soderquist in his 25th season. JBU held a losing record heading into Christmas Break at 6-7 overall, as the 2021 side featured more than a couple of close matchups that ultimately didn’t go JBU’s way at the end. Four of their seven pre-Christmas Break losses were decided by seven points or less.
JBU returned from a three-week layoff on Jan. 1, where they scored a convincing 15-point win over Oklahoma Panhandle State (80-65) to get back to .500 overall at 7-7. However, COVID-19 effects hit the program in the days that followed, leaving them unable to play their next three games. Those games were all ruled as forfeits, and the women’s basketball team added three losses to their total as a result. Close losses on Jan. 13 against Science & Arts (55-50) and on Jan. 15 against Texas Wesleyan (74-72 in OT) placed JBU five games back from .500 at 7-12 overall and 3-8 in conference play.
This set the stage for a very important matchup with Langston on Jan. 20, as the Golden Eagles really needed a win to keep the season from getting away from them. JBU’s previous date with Langston ended in controversy, as Langston scored the win on Nov. 18 off a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Asheika Alexander, though whether or not Alexander got the game-winning shot off in time was called into question.
This time, the Golden Eagles were the more dominant team. JBU controlled the momentum for most of the game, cruising to an 86-67 win. Natalie Smith scored a career-high 25 points including seven three-pointers. Tarrah Stephens added 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting. As a team, John Brown connected on 11 three-pointers against a Langston team that has been one of the conference’s most efficient at defending the three-ball this season.
When discussing the win, Soderquist pointed to JBU’s efforts from beyond the arc as a key factor, saying, “When you shoot like that, what it does is then it opens it up for Tarrah [Stephens], and then Tarrah started getting some easy one-on-one looks inside,” Soderquist said, adding that, “when we’re hitting threes like that, that just helps our inside game because they have to go and honor that.”
The Golden Eagles were able to follow up the dominant showing by taking a 29-point win over last-place Central Christian on Jan. 22. They returned to Bill George Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 25, where they defeated Oklahoma City by a score of 87-69. It was the first time the JBU women defeated OCU in almost eight years, and it was the first time they scored a win over the Stars in Siloam Springs in over two decades. Natalie Smith broke her recently-set career high in points with 28 in the winning effort. The win placed John Brown at 10-12 overall and 6-8 in conference play. The Golden Eagles enter Thursday as one of the hottest teams in the conference, winning their last three by an average of 22 points.
Meanwhile, the JBU men returned from Christmas Break with an 8-5 record, which, much like the women’s team, included several close losses (the men’s basketball team’s three pre-Christmas Break SAC losses came by a combined total of nine points). The men came back, and, despite missing starter Brenton Toussaint, who is out for the season, they still had a dominant showing against Oklahoma Panhandle State on Jan. 1. They snagged an 87-67 win over the Aggies at Bill George Arena. Then, the JBU men were recipients of a win via COVID-19 forfeit after Wayland Baptist could not come to Siloam Springs to play their Jan. 3 matchup.
Following this, the Golden Eagles were dealt a massive blow in the form of losing leading scorer and two-time All-Conference selection Densier Carnes for the season due to injury. JBU lost three of their next four, including a 67-63 nailbiter at Bill George Arena against #15 Science & Arts.
The Langston matchup on Jan. 20 gave JBU a chance to re-establish themselves, and they delivered, as they were able to complete the season sweep against Langston, as they rode an explosive 28-0 run that spanned both halves to cruise to a 101-56 win, extending Langston’s conference losing streak to 25. It marked the fourth time this season that JBU hit the century mark in scoring and the first time they did it against a SAC opponent since Jan. 16, 2018. Rokas Grabliauskas led the way with 19 points, while Nemanja Obraovic was right behind him with a career-high 17 points. It was one of the most impressive showings JBU’s shown both offensively and defensively all season.
“We’ve been figuring out who we are over the last couple of weeks,” JBU head men’s basketball coach Jason Beschta said, after the win. “I think the guys came out and really made a statement.”
The JBU men then traveled to McPherson, Kansas and defeated Central Christian two days later on Jan. 22 to complete the season sweep against the Tigers. Luke Harper led the team in scoring with 22 points.
Next, they faced a tough test in the form of Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Jan. 25. The offense got off to a hot start, opening the game on a 17-4 run, but they were unable to keep it going, as they did not score in the last seven minutes of the first half and displayed similar offensive futility in the second half. The end result was a 73-62 loss against OCU, dropping JBU to 13-9 overall and 7-7 in SAC play going into Thursday. Grabliauskas was at the top of the box score again for John Brown with 11 points.
The Golden Eagles will take the court again tonight to take on North Texas at Dallas. The JBU women will look to avenge their 64-63 loss from Dec. 4 against the Trailblazers. The UNTD women hold a 10-11 overall record and are 4-10 in SAC play. They have lost three straight and four of their last five.
Meanwhile, the JBU men will look to even the season series against UNTD after taking a 65-64 loss against the Trailblazers on Dec. 4. The UNTD men, coached by former NBA All-Star Josh Howard, are 8-13 overall and 4-10 in SAC play. They have lost four of their last five as well. It will be the first time UNTD has faced JBU inside Bill George Arena.
The women’s game will tip-off first at 6:05 p.m., while the men’s game is scheduled to start at 7:45 p.m. Both games can be viewed online on the SAC Sports Network.