Box Score

AUSTIN, TX:  The 20th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men’s basketball team (24-6, 19-5 RRAC) closed out the regular season with a 74-65 win  at Huston-Tillotson University (1-28, 1-23) on Monday.
 
Although Texas Wesleyan did not open with terrific shooting on their end, they held Huston-Tillotson to a paltry 25% from the floor in the first half.  That combined with 12 second chance points and three three-pointers from Tyler Sears gave TWU a 38-28 advantage at the half.
 
Both teams played a more efficient second half.  Another triple from Sears and a layup from Stephane Mudiay gave the Rams their largest lead of the game at 55-38 with 8:15 to play.  Huston-Tillotson managed a late push, clipping the lead down to single digits at 63-55 with 4:29 remaining, but the effort fell well short.
 
Eric Frederick paced the effort with 31 points and 12 rebounds.  Sears, Mudiay, and Chris Angsomwine provided 34 bench points.  Sears finished with 15 points while hitting 4-of-5 long range shots.  Mudiay added 12 points and seven rebounds, and Angsomwine posted 7 points and 10 boards.
 
Head coach Terry Waldrop was pleased with the distribution of minutes as the Rams gear up for this weekend’s Red River Athletic Conference Tournament, as eight players saw the floor for at least 10 minutes.  “Our bench gave us a great effort tonight.  Tyler gave us a huge lift offensively.  Mudiay and Angsomwine played well as well and Ryan Glanzer brings great stability to the floor.”
 
For the game, the Rams outshot Huston-Tillotson 42%-36% from the field, 30%-23% from distance, and 80%-59% at the free throw line.  Texas Wesleyan led 47-37 in rebounds, 22-10 in second chance points, 11-4 on the fast break, and 34-9 in bench points.
 
Huston-Tillotson was led by Lance Richardson’s 27 points.  Ronzelle Fort added 14 points and Cameron Morgan posted 13 in the loss.
 
At 19-5 in conference play, the Rams will be the third seed in the RRAC Tournament.  They will meet sixth seeded Wiley College in Friday’s quarterfinal round.  That game is scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. start in Southwestern Assemblies of God University’s Full Life Center.