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26 Northwest Arkansas Basketball Sunday, November 3, 2019 John Brown men have to replace key pieces The John Brown University men's basketball team enjoyed a banner season in 2018-19. The Golden Eagles went 23-11 overall and 15-7 in the Sooner Ath- letic Conference, finishing second in the league and earning an at- large berth in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Cham- pionships. Led by All-Americans Jake Caudle and Josh Bowling, it was the most successful season so far under coach Jason Beschta. But Caudle (16.5 points per game) and Bowling (15.9 ppg) have graduated and the Golden Eagles will have to replace their produc- tion as they try and earn their way back to the national tournament this season. "I feel good about where we are," said Beschta, who's enter- ing his sixth season. "There's a lot of question marks but they're good ones. Every year for us, our expectation is we're going to de- velop and guys are going to make jumps. Jake did it. Bowling did it. We just need a couple of guys to make those jumps." The 2019-20 Golden Eagles opened their season against Crow- ley's Ridge College at Bill George Arena in the world famous Toilet GRAHAM THOMAS NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Courtesy Photo/John Brown University John Brown junior Rokas Grabliauskas brings the ball up the floor during a game last season. Gra- bliauskas is one of several returning players from last year's JBU men's basketball team. The Golden Eagles opened their season Saturday against Crowley's Ridge College in the annual Toilet Paper Game at Bill George Arena. Courtesy Photo/John Brown University John Brown guard Jordan Martin (12) defends against Oklahoma Panhan- dle State in a game from last season. Martin is the Golden Eagles' leading returning scorer from last year's team. The Golden Eagles opened their season against Crowley's Ridge College at Bill George Arena. v Continued on next page "I feel good about where we are. There's a lot of question marks but they're good ones. Every year for us, our expectation is we're going to develop and guys are going to make jumps." — John Brown University men's basketball coach Jason Beschta