FORT WORTH, TX: The 19th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (10-2) rode a big first-half performance to a 78-69 win over Huston-Tillotson University (1-6) at the Sid Richardson Center on Tuesday.
The Rams were well on their way to an historic blowout, leading 47-19 at halftime, before Huston-Tillotson put together a strong effort in the second half.
Huston-Tillotson pounded the offensive glass in the early going and had taken 11 shots to Texas Wesleyan's 5 in the first four minutes. However, HTU hit just two of those shots and trailed 10-4. Meanwhile Texas Wesleyan hit eight of its first nine shots from the field and started the contest on a 23-4 run.
The lead swelled to as many as 31 points (47-16) before the Rams settled for a 47-19 score at the break. Texas Wesleyan held Huston-Tillotson to just 18.9% (7-37) shooting from the field while holding an opponent under 20 points in a half for the first time since November 28, 2014.
Huston-Tillotson opened the second half on a tear. It took HTU just 5:07 to put more points (20) on the board than they had in the entire first half. Tillotson started the second half with a 27-7 run to cut the margin down to single digits at 54-46.
An offensive put-back from Joseph Williams cut the score to 60-56 with 7:36 to play. However, the Rams answered with a fast break lay-in from
Najeal Young, and Texas Wesleyan was able to stretch the margin to a more comfortable 70-60 with 3:24 on the clock.
For the game, the Rams outshot HTU 41%-38% from the field after HTU hit at a 58.8% clip in the second half. Texas Wesleyan held a +7 rebounding margin, 46-39.
Dion Rogers led all scorers with 19 points to go with 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Jeremy Crane provided 18 points off the Texas Wesleyan bench.
Naiel Smith finished with 13 points, while
Najeal Young posted 12.
Trevon Jeffery finished with 7 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
HTU was led by Ray Edwards' 11 points, while Joseph Williams, Quame Edwards, and Clifton Noel all finished with 10 points.
Texas Wesleyan will return to action on December 17, when they travel to Portales, NM, for an exhibition contest at Eastern New Mexico University. The Rams' next home game will be New Year's Eve. Ram fans can begin their New Year celebration with a 2:00 p.m. start in the Sid Richardson Center as Texas Wesleyan hosts Bethel College (KS).
Ramblings
- The last time Texas Wesleyan held an opponent under 20 points in a half was November 28, 2014, when they held Texas College to 19 points in the first half on the way to an 83-54 win.
- Texas Wesleyan leads the all-time series with Huston-Tillotson 23-5.
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Naiel Smith's streak of three consecutive games with double-figures in assists came to an end tonight. After dishing out four assists on Tuesday, Smith still leads the nation at 7.82 assists per game.
