FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (7-0) led Texas College (3-5) wire-to-wire on their way to an 83-54 win at the Texas Wesleyan Classic on Friday.
Oklahoma Baptist (7-1) opened action at the Classic with a 75-69 win over Dillard University (2-9). The Rams rolled to their seventh straight win, their best start to a season since 2010-11.
The Rams quickly opened a 10-point advantage at 10-4. The lead swelled to 17 at 25-8 after a three from
Chris Gracela. Texas Wesleyan outshot Texas College 47%-24% from the field and held a 27-15 advantage in rebounding. That translated to a 37-19 lead in the locker room.
The Steers briefly got within 20 at 59-42 midway through the second half, but an 11-2 run pushed the margin back out to 26 at 70-44. The Rams went on to lead by as many as 31 on their way to the 83-54 victory.
For the game, the Rams shot 50% (29-58) from the field while holding Texas College to 34% (20-58). The rebounding margin finished at 49-33.
Sam Akano paced the Rams with 24 points to go with eight rebounds.
Jerrell Ellis poured in 15.
Merv Lindsay filled the statsheet with nine points, 11 rebounds, three assists, no turnovers, and two steals.
Sean McLean also contributed a solid night with seven points and 10 boards.
The Rams will return to action on Saturday, when they host Dillard at 4:00 p.m. That game will be preceded by Oklahoma Baptist and Texas College at 2:00 p.m.
Ramblings
- The Rams started the 2010-11 season at 11-0.
- The Rams are +12.9 in rebounding the season and hold a scoring margin of +19.1.
- Akano's 24 points pushed his season average to 20.1.
- Texas Wesleyan is 28-4 all-time vs. Texas College and 3-1 vs. Dillard.
