The Langston men's basketball team's turnaround has been a big topic of discussion in basketball circles in recent months.
John Brown got a first-hand look at the Lions on Saturday.
No. 15-ranked Langston -- which went 1-27 last season and 0-22 in the Sooner Athletic Conference -- showed off its new team and first-year coaching staff and improved to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in conference play with a 78-46 victory over an injury-ridden Golden Eagles squad at Bill George Arena.
"I was proud of our guys," said first-year Langston coach Chris Wright, who went 106-25 the last four years at Talladega College, including reading the NAIA National Championship game last season. "I thought this was the most solid we've played all year. I feel like if we do that we'll be in good shape the rest of the year."
Wright was hired by Langston in April and revamped the Lions' roster in a short time.
Langston entered Saturday's game ranked No. 11 in the nation.
"You know, we have really good players, so that makes things a lot easier," Wright said. "I really feel like I work for the best president in the country. I have a supportive athletic administration. Really all the credit goes to our players, coaches and our administration."
The Lions hit 51.9 percent (27 of 52) of their shots and 22 of 28 free throws, while dominating John Brown (3-7, 1-3) in the rebounding department 33-19, including 14 offensive rebounds.
Langston also forced 23 turnovers, while only turning the ball over nine times.
"We looked like we had never faced a press before," said JBU coach Jason Beschta. "I told the guys when you see this on film it's going to be like, "Oh, dude look at all the things we just missed, the poor decisions we made within all this.' We've never struggled with that. All year we've been really good against teams that are pressing."
In fairness, JBU played without star guard Payton Guiot (back) and then saw key players Tyren Collins (knee), James Beckom (head) and Latrell Maitland (ribs) go down with injuries during the game.
"It just wasn't worth trying any of these guys anymore in the second half," Beschta said. "You could tell they were hurting. They're tough and they want to play, but you've got to find out what's going on."
JBU hung with Langston early, but the Lions pulled ahead 35-23 at halftime. Langston outscored the Golden Eagles 43-23 in the second half.
"They're really talented," Beschta said.
D'Monte Brown and Tristan Harper each scored 14 points off the bench to lead Langston, while AJ Rainey and Chereef Knox each had 10.
Noah Taylor led John Brown with 11 points.
"Coach Beschta's a really good coach," Wright said. "Obviously with their stud (Guiot) being out, that hurts them a lot. They're a really good team, a really well coached team."
The Golden Eagles were back in action Tuesday at Oklahoma City. Results were not available at presstime.
John Brown is scheduled to host Southwestern Assemblies of God on Saturday before wrapping up the fall semester Monday at home against North Texas-Dallas.
Langston 78, John Brown 46
Langston^35^43^--^78
John Brown^23^23^--^46
Langston (9-0, 5-0): Brown 14, Harper 14, Rainey 10, Knox 10, Mosley 9, Roland 9, Dean 8, White 4.
John Brown (3-7, 1-3): Taylor 11, Reeves 8, Gabani 7, Ellis 6, Collins 6, Stewart 4, Camp 2, Beckom 2.
John Brown 68,
Central Christian 66
McPHERSON, Kan. -- Senior James Beckom scored a season-high 15 points and used 11 boards off the bench to complete his second double-double of the season as the Golden Eagles fended off numerous second-half comeback bids in a 68-66 win over Central Christian (Kan.) on Thursday night (Dec. 1) inside Jerry Alexander Arena.
John Brown shot 47 percent (24-of-51) from the floor and earned a 45-24 rebounding advantage to produce an end to its six-game slide and remain perfect (10-0) versus the Tigers since Central Christian's entry into the Sooner Athletic in 2017.
Junior Noah Taylor hit an early triple and freshman Lukas Gabani's dunk before another bucket helped John Brown jump out to an early 13-3 lead that it wouldn't relinquish, despite CCCK's attempts in the second half to take advantage of a quartet of Golden Eagles unavailable for the matchup.
In the final 10 minutes of the contest, the Tigers (3-6, 1-3) whittled the John Brown lead to just one, but all four times the visitors produced a response. Beckom scored six of his 15 points in the final 4:21 of the night and JBU converted on just enough free throws (7-for-11) down the stretch to exit Kansas with its first NAIA win of the season.
"What a gutty performance tonight by our guys to come away with a much needed win against a good Central Christian team," head coach Jason Beschta said. "I'm so proud of our guys and the confidence and resiliency we played with in a really tight second half.
"Several guys were given the opportunity to play bigger or different roles than they are accustomed to and they embraced the chance and really stepped up for us. We continue to make improvements and get better each week and it's going to be fun to see where this team can get over the rest of the season."
Freshman Malachi Reeves chipped in with 12 points and eight boards, while senior Tyren Collins added nine points and eight boards. The John Brown bench produced 40 percent of the scoring, holding a 27-3 scoring advantage over the Central Christian reserves.
The John Brown bench shot 47 percent (9-of-19) from the field and secured 15 of JBU's 45 caroms.
Reece Warren hit six triples and led all players with 23 points for Central Christian and Isaiah Rivera added 16 points in the loss. Andre Shelby grabbed eight rebounds.