Box Score

WAXAHACHIE, TX: The fifth ranked Texas Wesleyan University men’s basketball team (20-2, 13-1 RRAC) took an 86-68 win at Southwestern Assemblies of God University (7-12, 5-9) in Red River Athletic Conference action on Monday. With the win, the Rams reached the 20-win plateau for the fourth consecutive year and the sixth time in the last seven seasons.

 

The Rams used an early 10-0 run, including eight points from Jonathan Blake, to take a 16-7 lead. An 8-0 run later stretched their lead to 33-16. The Rams led by as many as 21 points, 41-20, on their way to a 47-31 lead at the half.

 

The Lions managed on push early in the second half, cutting the lead to 12 at 51-39. However, SAGU could not get the margin to single digits. The Rams quickly regained their 20-point advantage at 63-43 and went on to the 86-68 win.

 

The Rams outshot the Lions 41.2%-39.7% from the field and 40%-23.5% from long range.  Texas Wesleyan continued its dominance in rebounding, holding a 49-36 advantage. Both teams turned the ball over 14 times, but the Rams led 20-11 in points off of turnovers. The Rams also led 21-15 in second chance points, 14-5 in fast break points, and 28-6 in bench points.

 

“This is a tough place to play,” commented head coach Terry Waldrop, “but we did a lot of good things today. We lost some focus for a while in the second half, but we did enough good to override that.”

 

Five Rams reached double-figures in scoring while four achieved or neared double-doubles.

 

Blake led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds, marking his third double-double in his last four games. Jeremy Smith finished with 17 points and nine assists, while Ty Gough notched 10 points and eight rebounds. Bryce Hill added 14 points, while Brian Wanamaker finished with 11 points. Jeremy Mayfield posted eight points and 10 boards.

 

The Lions were led by Ronald Horne’s 26 points (including 20 in the second half), while Nathaniel Ward finished with 20 points.

 

The Rams will return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Austin, TX, to take on Huston-Tillotson University. That game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start.