KANSAS CITY, MO: The 10th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (28-7) overcame a 16-point second-half deficit and topped 2nd ranked William Penn University (33-4) 83-82 in overtime during a semifinal contest at the 2017 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship on Monday.
Texas Wesleyan trailed by three (82-79) with 20 seconds to play in the overtime period. The Rams came out of a timeout and went for a quick two from
Ryan Harris, and then quickly fouled the Statesmen. Lionel Ellison missed the front end of a one-and-one bonus, and
Najeal Young came down with the biggest rebound of the game. Head Coach
Brennen Shingleton elected not to call his final timeout, and the move paid off.
Dion Rogers found space for a baseline jumper that found its mark for the win.
The Rams will meet Life University (26-10) in the NAIA Division I Championship Game at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The game will be carried live on
ESPN3.
Of the slow start, Head Coach
Brennen Shingleton said, "We've been getting in our own heads all year, and we were uncomfortable to start, so we had to figure out how to play our game. We were really stagnant at first, and it took us a while to figure out where we could get shots. Once we did that, we got to play at our pace."
Shingleton
went on to talk about the thrilling finish, "At the end of the day players make plays," he said. "It had nothing to do with coaching at that point, and the guys gutted it out. Again, they just don't want to go home. We love Fort Worth and Texas Wesleyan, but we want to be here for another 48 hours."
After a forgettable first half in which the Rams shot an anemic 26% from the floor, the team came to life and eventually overcame the high-powered Statesmen.
Najeal Young and
Ryan Harris combined for 31 points after the half. The Statesmen were in complete control at 51-35, four minutes into the second half when the Rams began to chip away at the deficit. A three-point play from Young started an innocent run that got the margin down to 51-40.
Trailing 55-45, the comeback got serious. An and-one from
Naiel Smith cut the margin to 55-50. Young later scored six consecutive points capped by a pair of free throws that tied the contest at 57-57. A triple from Harris gave the Rams their first lead at 60-59, and the game was on from that point.
The Rams played the final 8:07 without any time outs. Three ties and four lead changes later,
Dion Rogers nailed a three to make it 75-72 with 1:18 to play, but the Statesman answered immediately with a three from Ellison for the final points of regulation.
The Rams shot 43% from the floor after halftime to finish at 35% for the game. William Penn finished at 48% from the field. Both teams knocked down nine three pointers. The Rams out rebounded the Statesmen 48-44, and 17 offensive boards led to a 13-2 edge in second chance points.
Young led the Rams with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Rogers and Harris notched 18 apiece.
Naiel Smith posted 11 points, 8 rebounds, and six assists, while Jeremy crane finished with 10 points.
William Penn's Jarvis Haywood led all scorers with 22 points. Torren Jones posted 19 points and 18 rebounds before fouling out of the contest with 1:35 to play in overtime.
Live University advanced to the final with a 65-63 win over No. 1 LSU-Alexandria on Monday. Tuesday's Championship game will air live on
ESPN3 at 7:00 p.m.
Ramblings
-
Dion Rogers moved up to 19th on Texas Wesleyan's all-time scoring list at 1,046 career points, passing both Jason Peterson (1,034) and Brian Wanamaker (1,046) on Monday. Next on the list is E.F. Paraham at 1,080 points.
- The Rams, in their 15th NAIA National Tournament appearance now hold an all-time tournament record of 17-13. The team's tournament history dates back to the 4th NAIB Tournament in 1940 when they reached the quarterfinals. The Rams have also made appearances in 1941, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1983, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2016. They have advanced to the round of 16, 9 times, the quarterfinals 4 times, semifinals twice, championship game twice, and won one title in 2006.
- The Rams had never before faced any of their five opponents in the NAIA National Tournament: University of the Cumberlands, The Master's University, Dalton State College, William Penn University, and Life University.
