The John Brown men's basketball team hopes to pick right up where it left off the last time it took the court.
The Golden Eagles return to Sooner Athletic Conference action on Thursday against Central Christian (Kan.) at 8 p.m. at Bill George Arena to start the second half of their season after a solid first half.
Sooner Athletic Conference Basketball Standings
MEN^CONFERENCE^OVERALL
^W-L^W-L
Langston^4-0^12-0
John Brown^4-1^10-3
Oklahoma City^3-1^8-2
Wayland Baptist^3-1^8-4
SW Assemblies of God^2-2^9-2
Science and Arts^2-2^8-3
Southwestern Christian^2-2^7-5
Texas Wesleyan^2-2^7-5
Mid-America Christian^1-3^8-4
Central Christian^1-3^7-4
Panhandle State^1-3^6-4
Bacone^0-5^2-8
This week
Thursday’s games
Central Christian at John Brown
Southwestern Assemblies of God at Wayland Baptist
Texas Wesleyan at Panhandle State
Mid-America Christian at Oklahoma City
Science and Arts at Southwestern Christian
Langston at Bacone
Saturday’s games
John Brown at Langston
Southwestern Assemblies of God at Panhandle State
Oklahoma City at Science and Arts
Southwestern Christian at Mid-America Christian
Central Christian at Bacone
Texas Wesleyan at Wayland Baptist
WOMEN^CONFERENCE^OVERALL
^W-L^W-L
Oklahoma City^4-0^10-1
Wayland Baptist^4-0^10-2
Panhandle State^3-1^7-3
Texas Wesleyan^3-1^5-7
John Brown^3-2^7-5
Mid-America Christian^2-2^7-2
SW Assemblies of God^2-2^6-4
Southwestern Christian^2-2^5-5
Langston^1-3^6-6
Science and Arts^1-3^6-6
Central Christian^0-4^1-10
Bacone^0-5^0-8
This week
Thursday’s games
Central Christian at John Brown
Southwestern Assemblies of God at Wayland Baptist
Texas Wesleyan at Panhandle State
Mid-America Christian at Oklahoma City
Science and Arts at Southwestern Christian
Langston at Bacone
Saturday’s games
John Brown at Langston
Southwestern Assemblies of God at Panhandle State
Oklahoma City at Science and Arts
Southwestern Christian at Mid-America Christian
Central Christian at Bacone
Texas Wesleyan at Wayland Baptist
JBU (10-3, 4-1 SAC) enjoyed a solid first half, capped by winning its two games in the Webber International (Fla.) Christmas Shootout on Dec. 17-18 in Babson Park, Fla., defeating Johnson (Fla.) 85-63 and Fontbonne (Mo.) 76-60.
Head coach Jason Beschta said he hopes the Golden Eagles keep trending upward in the second half of the season.
"After a great first semester and a strong start in conference play, what will really determine whether we keep that going after Christmas break is if we are a team that continues to improve," Beschta said. "We can't rest on what we have already done, because our team goals all lead towards a strong finish to the season. Our strong leadership and experience is something we have to continue to draw from while consistently improving each day."
JBU returned to campus last week, and the Golden Eagles were scheduled to play Missouri Southern State on Dec. 31 in an exhibition game. Due to early press deadlines because of the New Year's holiday, results were not available.
JBU is enjoying balanced scoring production led by senior Josh Bowling at 17.4 points per game, followed by Jake Caudle at 13.4, Desmond Kennedy 11.6, Rokas Grabliauskas 10.9 and Brenton Toussaint 10.5.
Central Christian comes into Thursday's game with a 7-4 record overall and 1-3 mark in the SAC. The Tigers defeated Panhandle State (Okla.) 103-90 in their last game on Dec. 15. All three of the Tigers' losses in conference play have been decided by close scores: 66-64 to Southwestern Christian (Okla.), 76-71 to Oklahoma City and 88-87 to Wayland Baptist.
Women
The JBU women's team will also return to the court on Thursday at 6 p.m. against Central Christian.
The Golden Eagles (7-5, 3-2 SAC) haven't played since dropping a pair of games Dec. 18-19 in the Malika Sport Tours Hoop N Surf Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.
JBU lost 58-56 in overtime to Benedictine (Kan.) and 100-59 to Morningside (Iowa) before returning stateside for Christmas break.
"Christmas is always a good time for a break for a little while before we really get going in conference," said JBU head coach Jeff Soderquist. "We are excited to get back and get playing again. We as a team are still trying to find some consistency with our play -- from our starters to the bench. I think we have a team that can make a good run in this conference this year. We're excited to try to make a run."
Senior Baily Cameron continues her push toward the JBU all-time scoring record. With 194 points scored this season, Cameron (16.3 ppg) is 70 points away from tying Kendra McCormick Knoner's all-time mark of 1,793.
Senior Karina Chandra is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game, while junior Jordan Martin averages 9.1.
Central Christian comes into Thursday's game with a 1-10 overall record and 0-4 mark in league play.
Sports on 01/02/2019