OLATHE, KS: The Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (1-0) rallied for an 81-76 win in their season opener against Park University (0-1) at the MidAmerica Nazarene University Classic on Thursday.
The Pirates held a 13-point advantage (51-38) in the second half, and the Rams continued to trail 68-56 with 8:30 to play. After cutting the deficit to six at 70-64,
BJ Batts drained a three to spark a 7-0 run.
Jerell Ellis followed with one-of-two at the free throw line, and then nailed another three to put the Rams on top 71-70.
The Pirates tied the game at 73-73 with 3:19 on the clock, but a three-point play from
Trevon Jeffery put Texas Wesleyan back on top. The Rams hit 5-of-7 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 81-76 opening night victory.
The first half had been much the same. Park jumped out to a 24-13 lead, but the Rams tied the game at 36-36 with a 7-0 run before going to the locker room down by one at 39-38.
Park outshot Texas Wesleyan 43% - 33% from the field. The Rams held a narrow 43-41 advantage on the boards. The difference in the game was the Rams long range attack combined with a solid night at the free throw line. The Rams hit nine 3-pointers (9-30) while the Pirates hit just 4-of-21. Meanwhile, the Rams were 18-for-23 (80%) at the line while Park was 20-for-33 (61%).
Ellis led the Rams with 21 points, while
Sam Akano finished with 20. Jeffery posted 16 points and Batts added 15 in the Texas Wesleyan debut for both players.
Chris Gracela had a solid night as well with 6 points, 5 assists, and 11 rebounds.
Park's Xavielle Brown led all scorers with 28 points to go with nine rebounds. Noel Surles finished with 12, and Levi Mitchell scored 10 for the Pirates.
The Rams will play No. 21 MidAmerica Nazarene (1-0) at 8:00 pm on Friday. MNU took a 113-57 win over Ozark Christian College on Thursday.
Ramblings
- The Rams have won six consecutive season-opening contests and are 4-0 on opening day under head coach
Brennen Shingleton.
- This was the first ever meeting between Park and Texas Wesleyan. The Rams won the only previous meeting with MidAmerica Nazarene 94-92 on November 16, 2013, in Fort Worth.
