FORT WORTH, TX: The 16th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (14-2, 4-1 SAC) breezed to a 91-71 Sooner Athletic Conference win over Bacone College (3-9, 1-4 SAC) at the Sid Richardson Center on Thursday.
The Rams had little trouble dispatching the Warriors. Texas Wesleyan led for over 36 minutes and stretched the margin to as many as 28 points (52-24).
Midway through the first half a three from
Dion Rogers sparked a 23-2 run that featured a pair of thunderous dunks from
Najeal Young.
Ryan Harris poured in 14 of his 22 first-half points during the stretch, and when the smoke cleared, the Rams had a healthy 46-22 advantage. With three minutes to play in the period, the Warriors had scored 22 points while Harris had come off the Wesleyan bench to score 20 points on his own.
In the first half, the Rams shot 57% from the field and 53% from long range while holding Bacone to 32% shooting from the floor and 27% from distance. That translated to a 52-28 lead at the intermission.
Texas Wesleyan held Bacone at arm's length throughout the second half, cruising to the 91-71 win.
For the game, the Rams outshot the Warriors 52%-42% from the floor and a cool 50% (13-26) to 30% (7-23) from 3-point range. Texas Wesleyan also dominated the glass 48-31.
Five Rams reached double-figures in scoring while
Najeal Young and
Trevon Jeffery both finished with double-doubles.
Dion Rogers led the way with 27 points, while Harris came off the bench to throw in 26 of his own. Jeffery posted 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Young notched 10 points and 12 boards.
Jeremy Crane added 10 points, and
Naiel Smith posted 10 assists without a turnover.
Brandon Scott led Bacone with 22 points.
The Rams return to action on Saturday, when they host John Brown University. That game is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start in the Sid Richardson Center.
Ramblings
- In five conference games this season,
Naiel Smith's assist/turnover ratio is a ludicrous 58/1! Smith is still the NAIA's leading assist man with 133 assists and 8.9 assists per game. He also ranks second nationally with 2.73 steals per game and 3
rd with an overall assist/turnover ratio of 5.78.
- Smith has reached double-figures in assists eight times this season including seven of the last eight games.
- In five conference games,
Dion Rogers is averaging 22.8 points per game, while
Trevon Jeffery is averaging a double-double with 10.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
- The Rams are now 20-8 all-time against Bacone and 30-31 all-time in SAC play. Texas Wesleyan holds a narrow 4-3 lead over John Brown in the all-time series.
- Texas Wesleyan is 22-2 in its last 24 home games.
- With SAGU and Wayland Baptist both suffering losses on Thursday, the tie atop the SAC standings is down to two teams in No. 16 Texas Wesleyan and No. 5 Oklahoma City.
