FORT WORTH, TX: The 17th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (12-3, 2-3 SAC) suffered an 85-78 loss at the hands of John Brown University (11-6, 3-2 SAC) in Sooner Athletic Conference action at the Sid Richardson Center on Thursday.
The game featuring two teams in urgent need of a win was hotly contested. The Rams entered having dropped two in a row after a 12-0 start to the season. Meanwhile the Golden Eagles had lost five in a row after a 10-1 start to the year.
Sam Akano set the tone early with an emphatic dunk over John Brown's Brady Griffin. Akano hit the ensuing free throw and the Rams led 5-2. The lead changed hands five times before a three from
Jerrell Ellis sparked a 12-2 Texas Wesleyan run that left the Rams with their largest lead of the game at 22-13.
John Brown chipped away and tied the game at 26 before Texas Wesleyan took a 35-31 advantage into halftime.
Neither team could gain the upper hand in the second half. The score remained within four points on its way to its tenth tie at 69-69 with 4:28 to play. The Rams later trailed 75-72 when Griffin was fouled on a three-point attempt. Griffin was good on all three free throws to give JBU a commanding 78-72 advantage with 1:37 to play.
John Brown's lead swelled to 10 points at 85-75 in the final 90 seconds before
Merv Lindsay capped the scoring at 85-78 with a three pointer.
"I thought we played hard and well for the most part," commented head coach
Brennen Shingleton. "We played well for about 32 minutes, but we got tired. We are getting nothing from our post men and really need them to step up and contribute and level the playing field. This is a tough league with great teams, and we have to get back to doing what we do. We will be alright, but we definitely have to find some production from our big guys."
The game was statistically close in every category but one. The score was tied 10 times and the lead changed hands 17 times. The Golden Eagles shot 43% to the Rams' 42%. John Brown hit nine three's while the Rams hit eight. Texas Wesleyan led 44-39 on the boards while committing 12 turnovers and forcing 11. The difference came at the free throw line where John Brown was an outstanding 26-of-33 (78.8%) and the Rams managed just 8-of-15 (53.3%).
Akano led all scorers with 28 points. Lindsay followed with 23 points and eight rebounds. Ellis posted 16 points.
Chris Gracela contributed four points and a game-high 13 rebounds, and
Demarcus Richardson filled the stat sheet with six points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
John Brown was led by Max Hopfgartner's 21 points. Zach English scored 20. DJ Feitl finished with 19, and Griffin contributed 13 to the winning effort.
The Rams will return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Shawnee, OK, for an SAC contest with St. Gregory's University. That game is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. start.
Ramblings
- The Rams are 10-21 all-time in SAC play, 1-2 vs. John Brown, and 4-3 vs. St. Gregory's.
- Akano is averaging 20.2 points per game this season. He entered tonight's game ranked 14th nationally at 19.6 points per game.
