FORT WORTH, TX: The 16th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (15-2, 5-1 SAC) took an 82-71 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over John Brown University (10-7, 2-4 SAC) at the Sid Richardson Center on Saturday.
For the first time in the last nine contests, the Rams were actually outshot by their opponent. John Brown hit at a 43% clip while holding the Rams to just 38% from the floor. Texas Wesleyan combatted that issue by dominating the offensive boards. Twenty-two offensive rebounds allowed Texas Wesleyan to take ten more shot attempts than the Golden Eagles.
As well as JBU played defensively, they never did lead in the contest. The game was extremely close until Texas Wesleyan used a 9-2 run to open a 56-45 advantage with 12 minutes to play.
The lead swelled to as many as 15-points (65-50) after a pair of
Najeal Young free throws with 8:03 on the clock. John Brown managed one push when a three from Brandon Joseph cut the margin to single digits (72-63) with two minutes to play.
In the final minutes, the Rams hit 10-of-12 free throw attempts to hold off the Golden Eagles 82-71.
TXWES dominated the glass 51-30, and thanks to their 22 offensive rebounds, led 21-3 in second chance points.
Naiel Smith continued his assault on the SAC. In the first half, he finally had his string of assists without a turnover snapped at an incredible 50. In six SAC games, he now boasts 67 assists against three turnovers for an assist/turnover ratio of 23.3/1. Smith was just one assist shy of a triple-double against JBU with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.
Four other Rams reached double-figures in scoring, led by
Najeal Young's 22 points and nine rebounds.
Trevon Jeffery posted a third consecutive double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Dion Rogers poured in 19 points, and
Ryan Harris contributed 11 points and six rebounds.
Zach English led the Golden Eagles with 18 points. Jake Caudle added 13 points and Samuel Egedi finished with 11.
The Rams will return to action on Thursday, when they travel to Plainview, TX, to take on Wayland Baptist University. That game is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. start.
Ramblings
- Saturday's win moved the Rams to .500 all-time in four seasons of SAC play at 31-31. The Rams now lead the all-time series with John Brown 5-3, while Wayland Baptist holds a 21-19 edge all-time.
- Smith has recorded double-figures in assists eight times including seven of the last nine games. His string of 50 consecutive assists without a turnover dates back to the first half against Bethel, five games ago.
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Trevon Jeffery continues to average a double-double in SAC play with 11.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
- Texas Wesleyan is 23-2 in its last 25 home games.
- Smith leads the nation with 142 assists and 8.88 assists per game. He also ranks second in steals (44) and steals per game (2.75). His assist/turnover ratio of 5.68 ranks third nationally.
- Because Oklahoma City does not play until Monday (at Wayland Baptist), the Rams are alone atop the SAC standings at 5-1. Texas Wesleyan will host 5th ranked Oklahoma City on Saturday, January 21.
