FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team remained unbeaten at 5-0 with a 77-72 win over Dallas Christian College (2-7) at the Sid Richardson Center on Thursday.
A scrappy Dallas Christian team came out firing and jumped ahead 19-13 midway through the first half. An offensive put-back from
Mario Monroe and a three from
Merv Lindsay cut the margin to a single point, but the Crusaders persisted and led 28-24 with just over four minutes to play. A jumper from
Teyvon Lundy capped a 6-0 run that put the Rams on top 30-28, and Texas Wesleyan went on to lead 32-30 at the break.
The Rams controlled most of the second half, but a resilient Crusader squad matched each Texas Wesleyan push to stay within striking distance. The Rams led 59-57 when
Sam Akano and
Jerrell Ellis poured in eight points during a 10-1 run that finally gave the Rams some breathing room.
Dallas Christian continued to battle, but a thunderous dunk from Akano left the score at 71-63 with just over two minutes to play, putting the exclamation point on what turned out to be a 77-72 victory.
"I would rather learn from winning than losing," said head coach
Brennen Shingleton, "but we didn't play well tonight at all. Thankfully Chris [Gracela], Sam [Akano], Jerrell [Ellis], and Mario [Monroe] carried the load. We have a lot of learning to do throughout this process and we will!"
For the game, the Rams shot 40% from the field while holding Dallas Christian to 38%. Texas Wesleyan hit 4-of-21 from long range, while the Crusaders were 7-of-23 from beyond the arc. The Rams dominated the glass 58-40, giving them a +10.6 margin in that category this season.
Akano led the Rams with 21 points to go with nine rebounds, while Ellis came off the bench to score 19.
Chris Gracela notched a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Monroe finished with 12 points and six boards.
Trent Dawson led the Crusaders with 18 points. Miles Burnside added 14 and Joshua Harris 10.
The Rams will return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Dallas, TX, to take on Paul Quinn College. That game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start.
Ramblings
- 5-0 is the best start for the Rams since 2010-11 when the team ripped off 11 wins to start the season.
- Texas Wesleyan is 6-0 all-time vs. Dallas Christian and 23-7 vs. Paul Quinn.
- Texas Wesleyan will host the Texas Wesleyan Classic on the Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving. Fans can come to the Sid Richardson Center and catch four games between the Rams, Texas College, Dillard University, and Oklahoma Baptist University.
