CHICKASHA, OK: The 16th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (12-2, 2-1 SAC) breezed to a 102-79 Sooner Athletic Conference win at the University of Science & Arts (5-8, 0-2 SAC) on Thursday.
Dion Rogers poured in a career-high 32 points while the Rams shot just under 65% from the floor. Meanwhile the Rams limited the nation's leading scorer, Taran Buie, to his lowest scoring output of the season.
Rogers missed only one shot in the first half, going 5-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 at the free throw line for 12 points. He missed only two more in the second half to finish 14-for-17 from the field.
Buie, who entered the game averaging 30.3 points per game in his first 10 outings of the season, finished with a season-low 15. That not only marked Buie's first game under 20 points this season, it was his lowest scoring output since Texas Wesleyan limited him to 10 points on February 4, last season.
After trading buckets early,
Jeremy Crane bookended a 10-0 run that put the Rams up 19-9. The Rams led by as many as 17 (46-29) in the first half, but USAO closed the period with nine unanswered to trail 46-38 at the intermission.
Texas Wesleyan opened the second half on a tear. A 16-1 run featured seven points from Rogers and a monster transition slam from
Najeal Young. The lead swelled to as many as 27 points (90-63) and the Rams never allowed the Drovers to mount a threat on their way to the 102-79 win.
For the game, the Rams outshot the Drovers 64%-41% from the floor and 40%-31% from long range. Texas Wesleyan dominated the paint, 58-26 and led 12-2 in fast break points.
Five Rams reached double-figures in scoring. Rogers added eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals to his 32 points.
Ryan Harris and
Jeremy Crane came off the bench to contribute 19 and 14 points respectively.
Naiel Smith approached a quadruple-double with 11 points, a season-high 15 assists, seven rebounds, and six steals.
Trevon Jeffery added 13 points to the win.
Brendan Chapman led the Drovers with 18 points.
The Rams will return to action on Saturday, when they host Southwestern Christian University. That game is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. start in the Sid Richardson Center.
Ramblings
- The Rams are now 9-7 all-time against USAO and 28-31 all-time in SAC play. Texas Wesleyan leads the all-time series with Southwestern Christian 6-2.
- Rogers' previous career high was 30 against Southwestern Adventist earlier this season.
- Smith has reached double-figures in assists six times this season including five of the last six games. He currently leads the nation with 111 assists and 8.54 assists per game.
