KANSAS CITY – John Brown junior Terrah Stephens was named NAIA Women’s Basketball National Player of the Week for Week 8 of the 2021-2022 season.

In JBU’s 78-73 overtime win over Panhandle State, Stephens rewrote three single-game program records, including total points, field goals made and field goals attempted by finishing the afternoon with a 45-point outing on 18-of-27 shooting from the floor. Finishing 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, she completed her fifth double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.

Stephens also hit another milestone and punched her ticket into the 1,000 point club. The Wyandotte, Okla. native became the 19th entry onto the prestigious list in the third when her hook shot fell after shedding a defender with a pivot back into the middle.

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MONUMENT, Colo. — John Brown University senior forward Densier Carnes will join seven other collegiate basketball players from across the United States on a 10-day competitive tour of North Macedonia next month.

The team will depart June 30 from DFW Airport in Dallas to fly to Chicago, then onto Vienna, Austria, and Skopje, Macedonia. The team returns on July 10. The AIA team will play four games versus under-20 National teams from the region. The goals of this tour are to provide a rich cross-cultural experience for each team member, an opportunity to compete internationally, and for team members to grow in their personal faith. Athletes In Action focuses on developing athletes and coaches as leaders of influence on and off the field.

“This is such a special opportunity for Densier to use the game that he loves to help spread the gospel,” head coach Jason Beschta noted. “I am so excited for him because I know what an impact these trips can have – not only on others’ lives, but his as well. Athletes in Action does such a great job of investing in these young men spiritually, and because of the high level of talent that he’ll play with and the strong coaching he’ll receive, Densier will have a great chance to improve his game as well.

“I’m hoping that playing with such elite teammates and competition will build his confidence and help him realize that he’s capable of even more – and that’s saying something for a two-time All-American.”

The coach for the team is Bill Peterson, assistant coach at Baylor University. Bill has coached multiple Athletes In Action tours in his career. The assistant coach is Ty Beard, Director Of Video Operations at Baylor. The director of the tour is Mike Sigfrids of AIA Basketball. Mike has served with Athletes In Action for 48 years and has conducted over 30 international basketball tours since 1987. Athletes In Action is a Christian sports organization founded in 1966.

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WAXAHACHIE, Texas – The Golden Eagles improved to 5-1 in overtime games this season and six points from Densier Carnes in the fourth period alone powered the No. 9 John Brown University men’s basketball team to a 71-68 double-overtime win over No. 13 Southwestern A.G. (Texas) on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 29) inside the Sheaffer Center.

Carnes’ produced his 12th double-double of the season and scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down 11 boards as the Golden Eagles (26-4, 17-3 Sooner Athletic) avoided giving up a 13-point second half lead to a SAGU squad that was without its leading scorer, Nykolas Mason.

As has been the staple this season, the John Brown defense stepped up in the overtime periods. Each team could only muster two points in the first, but the Golden Eagles held the Lions to a 3-of-15 shooting mark over the 10 minutes of extra time as Carnes’ pair of buckets early in double overtime gave JBU a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Junior Rokas Grabliauskas hit a big-time jumper in the lane with 1:15 left and a JBU inbound up just one point turned into a fast-break dunk for sophomore Ira Perrier with three seconds remaining in the contest. A long, uncontested triple from SAGU caught iron at the buzzer, but wasn’t close to falling.

The win caps off JBU’s best regular season mark since 2013 and sets up a Sooner Athletic tournament quarterfinal matchup with Oklahoma City on Tuesday night (March 3) inside Bill George Arena at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles also finish the regular season with a 3-2 record versus NAIA top-25 competition.

“Today was a charged environment with it being their senior day this afternoon,” head coach Jason Beschta said. “They had a great crowd behind them. SAGU made a nice run to take the lead in the second half, but the right things happened for us to find a way to win again in overtime.

“It’s crazy that we’ve played overtime six times this semester, but we have to get some rest and refocus for a quick turnaround game. We’re looking forward to the opportunity of hosting a quarterfinal game on Tuesday night.”

After Grabliasukas connected on a triple just under five minutes into the second half, Carnes pieced together a quick 5-0 run of his own to produce a 46-33 Golden Eagle lead with 13 minutes left in the second half. The host Lions were reeling, scoring only twice so far in the half, but would later use a JBU drought to pull back ahead.

After Luke Harper’s trey kept the Golden Eagles ahead by 11 with 10:20 remaining, John Brown would only get one field goal, a Quintin Bailey bucket in the paint, over the next nine minutes of play, allowing SAGU to pull ahead, 55-54. On his second attempt of the possession, Grabliauskas knocked back a big-time triple to return to the lead back to the visitors, 57-55, but a pair of Lion free throws tied the game up again before both teams’ defenses forced a shot clock violation to end regulation.

Grabliauskas finished with 13 points while Harper worked through a tough shooting day to add 12 points and five assists in the victory.

Neither team shot well, each hitting just 35 percent from the field. The Lions held a 46-40 rebounding advantage, including 16 offensive boards.

Kentton Williams paced the SAGU scoring effort with a double-double, 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Joshua Kashila contributed 19 points and eight rebounds. Howard Turner’s 11-point, eight-rebound effort rounded out the three double-digit scoring performances for the hosts.

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SILOAM SPRINGS – On an afternoon when the offense struggled, junior Kiree Hutchings poured in a career-high 22 points and the Golden Eagles achieved a new modern-era single season record inside Bill George Arena as the No. 9 John Brown University men’s basketball team overcame a huge deficit to extend its winning streak to six with a 72-60 win over Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 22) inside Bill George Arena.

For the first time in the modern era of John Brown men’s basketball, which kicked off back in 1958, the Golden Eagles (25-3, 16-2 Sooner Athletic) closed out a perfect regular season inside Bill George Arena at 16-0. JBU will have one more game remaining, March 3rd evening, when JBU hosts a Sooner Athletic tournament quarterfinal matchup.

The afternoon started out with promise after senior Dwayne Hart’s opening-possession rejection of the league’s leading scorer, J.J. Culver, which brought the home crowd to a standing ovation for the injury-plagued forward. After that, however, things looked grim.

Suffering through an offensive drought that lasted the first 9:10 of the contest, the Golden Eagles were without a field goal, starting the game 0-of-8 with four turnovers. Then, Hutchings hit his first triple of the ballgame, and the momentum shifted.

Down 16-2, the Hutchings triple jumpstarted a 26-0 John Brown rally that featured a Pioneer scoreless drought of 10:36 that swung the momentum well back in the hosts’ favor. Three Hutchings triples and a pair of buckets down low from freshman Nemanja Obradovic fueled the Golden Eagle rally that really lasted through the remainder of the half, bolstering JBU to a 31-18 lead at the intermission.

“Great way to start the game with Dwayne’s emphatic block, but I think we got a little shell-shocked thinking that meant we would win the game,” head coach Jason Beschta admitted after John Brown’s season sweep of Wayland. “Thankfully, we got back to being who we are. I think we had 21 stops on 22 possessions down the stretch in the first half. To see Kiree come out, play more minutes than he ever has, knock down shots with confidence from way back was great to see from a senior out there.

“In this league, you can’t let other teams get points in transition, you have to make it a half-court game. We feel like we can really guard people in the halfcourt, and I think we showed that.”

The halftime deficit for Wayland would hold as the teams battled to an even second half. The nation’s third-best free-throw shooting squad converted 19-of-21 from the charity stripe and kept pace with the visitors. While WBU attempted 12 more field goals, and converted at a 52 percent clip, the John Brown free throw shooting along with 10 Wayland miscues kept the perfect record at home in tact for the Golden Eagles.

Coupled with Central Christian’s upset of No. 13 Southwestern A.G. this afternoon, John Brown is guaranteed at least the No. 2 seed in the Sooner Athletic tournament. JBU remains one game back of No. 2 Mid-America Christian after the Evangels’ narrow victory over Southwestern Christian this afternoon.

Hutchings finished the contest with a career-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting and a 5-of-7 effort from behind the arc. Sophomore Luke Harper added 11, while junior Densier Carnes contributed seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Culver paced the Wayland Baptist scoring effort with 18 points, but was limited on 7-of-18 shooting from the floor and committed a game-high seven turnovers. Jack Nobles added 10 in the Pioneer loss which snapped Wayland’s four-game winning streak.

John Brown finished the contest 28-of-32 from the line and hit eight triples en route to shooting 44 percent (18-of-41) from the field. While Wayland shot well in the second half, the last 10 minutes of the first half plagued the visitors, which finished 39 percent from the floor (23-of-59). The Pioneers were held to 21 points fewer than its season average (81.1).

JBU will now close out the regular season on a two-game road trip to Dallas-Ft. Worth. The Golden Eagles will take on No. 23 Texas Wesleyan on Thursday night before taking on No. 13 SAGU in Waxahachie on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 29) in the regular season finale.

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Kansas City, Mo. – Densier Carnes of John Brown has been named the NAIA National Men’s Basketball Division I Player of the Week, the national office announced Tuesday. Carnes was nominated for his performances during the week of Jan. 13-19 and was selected out of a pool of conference award winners.

Player of the Week

Densier Carnes, John Brown
Jr., Forward, Atlanta, Ga.

• Hauled-in a career-high 18-rebound performance against Southwestern Christian (Okla.)
• Weekly Stats:
  • 65 points
  • 31 rebounds
  • Shot 60 percent (18-30) from the floor

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SILOAM SPRINGS – Freshman Desmond Kennedy made a splash in his second collegiate outing by hitting four triples, scoring 24 points, and the John Brown University men’s basketball team cruised to a second win in three days with a 110-51 win over Ozark Christian (Mo.) on Monday (Nov. 5) night inside Bill George Arena.

For the second time in as many games, the Golden Eagles (2-0) shot over 50 percent (37-of-71) and received over 40 points from the bench.

The visiting Ambassadors (0-3) moved to 0-8 all-time inside Bill George Arena, hampered by 31 turnovers, 15 unforced, and a 22 percent (7-of-32) shooting effort in the second half. JBU ballooned an already lopsided affair, 51-27 at the break, into a 59-point victory.

Off the bench, Kennedy poured in a game-best 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor, while senior Jake Caudle turned in yet another workmanlike performance with 18 points and three assists.

Before wandering into foul trouble, sophomore Rokas Grabliauskas contributed 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and seniors Josh Bowling and Dwayne Hart each posted 10 points.

Freshman Luke Harper dished out a game-best six assists to accompany an 8-point performance.

Hitting nine triples in each half, and finishing the game nearly 50 percent from behind the arc (18-of-39), the game was never in doubt after Caudle, twice, and Kennedy hit triples that expanded a 10-2 lead into a 23-7 advantage quickly midway through the first half.

Freshman Ira Perrier came off the bench to grab seven boards, leading an effort that saw the hosts out-rebound the Ambassadors 44-32. JBU converted 18 offensive caroms into 20 second-chance points as the hosts dominated the paint, 50-18.

The Golden Eagles will face their first test of the young season on Friday (Nov. 9) with a trip up to Olathe, Kan. to take on MidAmerica Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. before kick-starting a three-game homestand the following day.

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SILOAM SPRINGS – In a wild marathon, the John Brown University volleyball team used career highs from senior Bayli Reagan and freshman Jenna Lowery to avoid losing a 2-0 advantage in the contest, as the Golden Eagles defeated Mid-America Christian (Okla.) in five sets (25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 16-14) on Wednesday (Oct. 10) night inside Bill George Arena.

Reagan blasted a career-high 20 kills on an enormous hitting effort, clocking in at .576 (20-1-33), while Lowery scooped a career-best 34 digs as John Brown (11-8, 10-4 Sooner Athletic) took the fifth set in come-from-behind fashion.

Both passers had career nights for John Brown, as freshman Carries Ciesla passed out 25 assists and junior Elizabeth Williams assisted on 35 of John Brown’s 72 terminations. The duo helped the hosts hit .245 (72-26-188) on the match.

Four Golden Eagles finished the contest in double-digit kills, as sophomore Taylor Glover (14), junior Megan Beck and junior Lindsey (Davis) powered the Golden Eagle offense. Glover’s 14 proved to be a career-high.

“Tonight’s match against MACU was nothing less than two teams battling back and forth for just enough surges of momentum at critical moments to win sets,” head coach Ken Carver admitted. “MACU showed a lot of heart and grit to battle back from an 0-2 deficit and have our team on the ropes in the fifth before we were able to claw our way back and do just enough with a block termination and a timely overpass kill to seal the win.

“While we definitely showed some mental and physical fatigue in sets three and four, I was extremely proud of our players that they kept fighting and kept their communication positive in our huddles as to what we needed to do next. We did enough to grind out the win tonight and hold our place in the conference standing moving forward.”

Led by 19 kills from Da’Jah Thompson, MACU (10-12, 5-8) also earned 11 terminations from both Dianne Walter and Hannah Balzer-Lipsett and Alexa Bass assisted on 47 of the Evangels’ 60 kills.

Back-to-back John Brown attack errors allowed the visitors to capture match point, 14-13, but coming out of a timeout, the Golden Eagles responded with a Kinzee Mayo kill and, with the serve, stole back the match from MACU.

Glover and Davis teamed up for a rejection at the left pin to earn match point, and an overpass that was swatted down at the left line by Glover finished the match that lasted 2:16.

Davis led the JBU block effort at the net with two solo rejections and a trio of assists. Junior Jessica Meyer added four of her own while Glover contributed three, including half of the big-time stuff to move JBU to match point.

The Golden Eagles will now embark to Columbia, Mo. to take part in the Hampton Inn Classic, where it will face a trio of tough American Midwest opponents in William Woods (Mo.), Missouri Baptist and host Columbia (Mo.) over the four-match weekend tournament.

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MARSHALL, Mo. — The No. 24 John Brown University women’s soccer team used a goal in each half and a strong performance in goal to open the 2018 campaign with a 2-0 win over Missouri Valley on Saturday (Aug. 18) night at Gregg-Mitchell Field.

Behind sophomore Caitlyn Logan’s second-career clean sheet and senior Jastin Redman’s three-point night, the Golden Eagles (1-0-0) improved to 11-5-1 in season openers.

Despite being out-shot 8-7 in the contest, JBU held in check Missouri Valley’s leading scorer from last season, Julia Mejias, who attempted four shots, but only one finding goal, which Logan handled.

With MVC (0-1-0) applying early pressure, the Golden Eagles jumped to a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute when sophomore Emily Jordan’s corner kick landed in the box, right at the foot of Redman, who one-touched a shot just inside the far right post from six yards out.

Redman’s 47th career goal handed the upstart visitors the lead, and for good. It was Redman’s 13th career game-winner.

Fighting through a half in which the hosts held a 5-2 shooting advantage at the intermission, John Brown again responded early in the second half to double its lead.

Just 10 minutes into the second half, senior Aspen Carpenter netted her first of the season, from Redman, when she ripped an attempt from the top of the 18 that found the upper right corner, beating MVC keeper Summer Budaj, adding an insurance marker for the visitors.

Although armed with a 2-0 advantage, the Golden Eagles countered the Viking first-half effort by out-shooting the hosts 5-3 in the second half. The stellar JBU defense held MVC to just two shot attempts over the final 25 minutes of play.

Logan matched her single-game career high with five saves, earning the full-match victory in goal.

Freshmen Alair Love and Vanessa Reynoso each made their collegiate debuts for John Brown.

JBU will now travel to Columbia, Mo. this evening and rest tomorrow before taking on No. 10 Columbia at R. Marvin Owens Stadium on Monday (Aug. 20) at 5 p.m.

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