FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (15-13, 4-13 SAC) suffered an 81-76 loss against No. 12 Mid-America Christian University (21-8, 14-3 SAC) in the Sid Richardson Center on Thursday.
The win clinched the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season title for MACU. The Evangels have a two game lead on Wayland Baptist with one game to play. It was eerily reminiscent of a thrilling game between the same two teams earlier this season. In that contest, MACU built a 27 point lead only to see the Rams come all the way back before the Evangels held on for an 83-81 win. On Thursday, the Rams ran out to a big lead only to see the Evangels storm all the way back in the second half.
The Rams were clicking on all cylinders in the first half. The Evangels jumped ahead 12-4, but dunks from
Mario Monroe and
Seandre Sadler bookended a 12-2 run that put the Rams on top. Texas Wesleyan could hardly miss as the lead swelled to 17-points, 40-23. That margin held, 46-29, at halftime.
The Rams outshot the Evangels 56%-32% from the floor in the half. Both teams hit four three-pointers, while the Rams held a 24-14 rebounding advantage.
Semar Farris struggled in the first half, scoring just three points while committing four turnovers against just one assist, but MACU's floor leader got going in the second half when he hit a three with 15:53 to play that cut the score to 52-44. After a 6-0 run, the Rams still held a healthy 65-51 lead midway through the period, but a 14-2 MACU run made it 67-65 with 5:15 to play.
Two minutes later, the Evangels forced back-to-back turnovers and took the lead, 72-71, with a pair of free throws from Chris Runnels. It was still a one-possession game after a layup from
Jerrell Ellis pushed the score to 76-73 with 43 seconds to play, but Farris hit a pair of free throws and MACU went on to the 81-76 win.
In the second half, the Evangels outshot the Rams 53%-36% and led 24-18 on the glass.
For the game, the Rams led 46%-42% in shooting while making 32 baskets compared to just 28 for the Evangels. The Rams also led 42-38 on the boards. MACU had the edge in turnovers and free throws. The Evangels scored 30 points off of 21 Texas Wesleyan turnovers, while the Rams scored just 16 points off of 15 MACU turnovers. The Evangels were 17-of-22 at the free throw line (77%) enjoying 17 fouls against Texas Wesleyan. The Rams were just 6-of-9 (67%) at the line, while MACU committed just nine fouls in the game.
Sam Akano led the Rams with 21 points, while Ellis finished with 17, and
Merv Lindsay scored 13.
Chris Gracela added six points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Farris led all scorers with 22 points including 19 in the second half. Runnels scored 19 for the Evangels, while Hunter finished with 14 and Jarius Wilson scored 12.
The Rams will wrap up the regular season with their Homecoming game against Southwestern Assemblies of God University on Saturday. That game is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. start in the Sid Richardson Center.
Ramblings
- The Rams are 0-4 all-time vs. MACU and 23-8 against SAGU.
- Texas Wesleyan has lost eight games by fewer than 10 points this season.
- MACU was picked to finish tied for 5th in the SAC Preseason Poll.
