SALT LAKE CITY, UT: The Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (6-1) followed its first loss of the season by jumping right back in the win column with a 78-69 victory over Montana Tech (5-3) at the Westminster Classic on Friday.
The Rams and Diggers kicked off the holiday weekend action that also features the Westminster Griffins and The Master's Mustangs.
A layup from
Trevon Jeffery capped off a 9-2 Texas Wesleyan run to begin the game. The first half saw five tie scores and seven lead changes.
In the second half, the Rams came out of the locker room with a 15-2 run and never looked back. A pair of free throws form
Chris Gracela gave Texas Wesleyan the largest lead of the game at 66-49 with just over seven minutes to play.
Montana Tech made a push to make things interesting in the final minutes. A jumper from Cruz Ginns finished a 9-1 run that made it a two-possession ballgame at 75-69 with 48 seconds remaining. In those final seconds, the Rams got two stops and
Jerell Ellis knocked down three-of-four free throw attempts to close out the 78-69 win.
For the game, the Rams shot 39% from the field while holding Montana Tech to 35%. The difference in the game came in the rebounding column where the Rams led 54-38. Among those 54 boards were 20 offensive rebounds that led to Texas Wesleyan leading 24-6 in second chance points.
Jeffery came off the Texas Wesleyan bench to lead the Rams with 16 points while grabbing 8 rebounds.
Dion Rogers added 14 points, while
Sam Akano finished with 13. Gracela notched his third double-double in seven games with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Diggers were led by Ginns and Jalen Coates who both came off the bench to score 18 points.
The Rams will take on Westminster College on Saturday. The Griffins took a 98-97 win over The Master's in the nightcap on Friday. Saturday's contest is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. (MST) start.
Ramblings
- This was the first ever meeting between the Rams and Diggers. Texas Wesleyan and Westminster have had one previous meeting. The Rams defeated the Griffins 79-75 at Dillard University's Big Easy Classic in December of 2011.
- Five Rams are currently averaging double-figures in scoring on the season.
Sam Akano leads the team at 20.7 points per game, while
Chris Gracela is averaging a double-double with 10.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
