CHICKASHA, OK: The 9th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (18-4, 9-2 SAC) defended its new top-10 national ranking with an 86-56 win on the road against the University of Science & Arts (OK) (11-8, 6-5 SAC) on Thursday.
The Rams were coming off a 2-0 week featuring wins over then No. 20 Southwestern Assemblies of God and No. 7 Mid-America Christian that vaulted them up to 9th in the NAIA Coaches' Poll. The Drovers meanwhile were coming off a 2-1 week that also included victories over MACU and SAGU. That effort lifted USAO into the receiving votes portion of the latest poll.
On Thursday, an early layup from
Trevon Jeffery gave Texas Wesleyan the lead at 4-3 and the Rams never looked back. The Drovers managed to tie the game at 17-17 midway through the first half, but the Rams got four points each from
Dion Rogers and
Eric Stubbs during an 11-0 run. Texas Wesleyan went on to lead 40-24 at the break.
Three's from
Jerell Ellis and Rogers, separated by a bucket from USAO's Taran Buie, pushed the margin to 20 points at 46-26 at the start of the second half. The gap grew to as many as 33 points after a
BJ Batts layup brought the score to 67-34, and the Rams cruised to the 86-56 victory.
Texas Wesleyan outshot USAO 47% - 32% from the field, 39% - 16% from distance, and 75% - 50% at the free throw line. The Rams, who entered the game ranked 4th nationally in total rebound margin (10.619/g), outrebounded the Drovers 54-41.
Four Rams reached double-figures in scoring led by Ellis who scored 19 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists. Batts finished with 15 points. Rogers added 14 points and 9 rebounds, and
Doug Compton finished with 12 points.
Chris Gracela scored 6 points to go with 4 assists and 5 steals while grabbing a career-high 19 rebounds.
Richard McCalop led the Drovers with 12 points. Brendan Chapman scored 11 points for USAO, while Taran Buie, the nation's 4th leading scorer, was held to his second lowest output of the season with just 10 points.
The Rams will return to the Sid Richardson Center for Homecoming on Saturday when they host Southwestern Christian University. That game is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. start.
Ramblings
- During their current 8-game winning streak, the Rams have trailed for a total of 7:19.
- Gracela's 19 rebounds were the most by a Ram since Ty Gough's 20 rebounds at then No. 1 ranked LSU-Shreveport on January 10, 2011.
- The Rams have swept the season series from USAO and lead the Drovers 8-6 all-time.
- The Rams lead Southwestern Christian 5-2 all-time including a 62-60 loss to the Eagles earlier this season. Southwestern Christian (11-9, 7-4 SAC) is in its first season under the direction of former Baylor, Oklahoma, and SMU head coach Dave Bliss.
