FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (13-2, 3-1 SAC) took a 77-69 win over Southwestern Christian University (10-6, 2-2 SAC) in Sooner Athletic Conference action at the Sid Richardson Center on Saturday.
Naiel Smith got the Rams started on the right foot. Smith assisted each of the Rams' first seven baskets and followed that with a triple. Over eleven minutes ran off the clock before the Rams got a basket that was not either assisted or scored by Smith.
The Eagles bombed away from long range, hitting 6-of-14 attempts in the first half to keep the game close.
Jeremy Crane followed a layup with a three during a quick 7-0 run that finally gave Texas Wesleyan some separation at 34-23. SCU got the margin down to single digits, 39-30, when Marvin White hit three free-throws with just two seconds on the clock.
Trevon Jeffery threw an inbound pass the length of the floor and
Ryan Harris beat the buzzer with a layup to send the Rams to the locker room up 41-30.
The Rams started hot again in the second half and took the largest lead of the game at 50-36. The Eagles whittled that margin down to a single point at 56-55 midway through the period, but never could regain the lead.
A three from Shawn Scott made it a one-possession game at 71-68 with 3:13 on the clock, but Smith answered with a three on Wesleyan's next possession. A jumper from
Dion Rogers made it an 8-point (76-68) lead with 1:46 to play and that margin held at the final buzzer 77-69.
For the game, the Rams outshot the Eagles 49%-39% from the field and 44%-39% from long range. The Rams outscored the Eagles 36-18 in the paint and led 26-3 in bench points.
Six Rams reached double-figures in scoring led by Rogers' 16.
Naiel Smith and
Trevon Jeffery both posted double-doubles. Smith finished with 13 points and 12 assists, while Jeffery notched 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Ryan Harris and
Jeremy Crane came off the bench to contribute 15 and 11 points respectively.
Najeal Young also scored 10 points.
SCU was led by the duo of Joshua Simmons and Marvin White. Simmons fouled out after 33 minutes on the floor, exiting with 25 points and 11 rebounds. White finished with 22 points.
The Rams will return to action on Thursday when they host Bacone College. That SAC contest is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. start in the Sid Richardson Center.
Ramblings
- The Rams now lead the all-time series with SCU 7-2 while they are 29-31 all-time in SAC play. Texas Wesleyan leads the all-time series with Bacone 19-8.
- Smith has reached double-figures in assists seven times this season including six of the last seven games. He leads the nation with 123 assists and 8.79 assists per game.
- Texas Wesleyan is now 3-2 all-time against SCU head coach Dave Bliss. The Rams defeated Bliss' SMU squad 84-83 in December 1980 and then lost in overtime to the Mustangs in 1981.
- Home Sweet Home: The Rams have won 21 of their last 23 home games.
- Saturday's win coupled with an Oklahoma City loss at SAGU puts the Rams in a three-way tie for the lead in the SAC. Texas Wesleyan, Oklahoma City, and Wayland Baptist each have one loss in conference play.
