Densier Carnes of the No. 10 John Brown University men's basketball team has earned his first-career NAIA National Player of the Week honors after leading the Golden Eagles to a 3-0 week with a pair of double-doubles, the national offices announced Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Carnes, just one day after earning his first-career Sooner Athletic Player of the Week accolades on Monday, was honored after posting a career week that continued the Golden Eagles' win streak to four -- including a pair of tough road victories and two overtime wins. JBU landed wins over Langston, Southwestern Christian and Oklahoma City, inflating its record to 16-2 overall and 7-1 in league action.
During the three-game week, Carnes averaged 21.7 points per game and shot the basketball at a 60 percent clip (18-of-30). He also grabbed an average of 10.3 boards per contest that keeps him ranked as the nation's tenth-leading rebounder with 164 total caroms.
"What an incredible and well-deserved honor," head coach Jason Beschta said. "Densier took his game to another level -- posting career bests on one night only to set new ones the next. He is capable of affecting the game in so many ways and on both ends of the court. It's easy to see how well he did scoring the ball and dominating the boards, but what the stats don't show is how he took five charges in our double-overtime win at Southwestern Christian. It's special things like that that aren't always noticed in the stats.
"Densier keeps elevating his game to meet what we already know he's capable of doing, and he's pushing that ceiling week after week. I really do believe his best basketball is still in front of him. This is just an affirmation of his hard work and such an exciting honor that we are all excited to see him earn."
In the two games against Southwestern Christian and Oklahoma City, Carnes averaged over 40 minutes on the court per night.
After a 10-point outing at Langston in which he saw limited minutes due to the Golden Eagles' 24-0 run to start the contest, Carnes would need to log serious minutes in the next two games for John Brown as both headed to overtime. At Southwestern Christian, Carnes set a new career best in both points (23) and rebounds (18) as the Golden Eagles battled to a 98-91 win inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium in double overtime. The forward hit 15 of 16 from the line and knocked down 4 of 8 from the floor.
Finally at home after a pair of road games, the 6-foot-6 forward nearly single-handedly willed John Brown to another extra-session victory, 92-86 over Oklahoma City. Against the Stars, Carnes hit 11 of 18 from the field and 5 of 10 from behind the arc to set another new individual scoring record, this time finishing with 32 points as he once again led the rebounding charge for JBU with another 10 boards.
Through 18 games in the 2019-20 season, Carnes averages 13.3 points and 9.1 rebounds a game with a 48.6 percent shooting efficiency from the field. This past week he grabbed his seventh and eighth double-doubles of the season.
Sports on 01/26/2020