FORT WORTH, TX: The 9th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (24-6) took an emphatic 93-60 win in the quarterfinals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament against Mid-America Christian University (16-15) on Tuesday.
MACU entered the Sid Richardson Center as the defending NAIA National Champion and the only team that had beaten Texas Wesleyan twice this season, but the Rams dominated the contest wire-to-wire.
Dion Rogers took the first two shots of the game and drilled a pair of three's. In the first two minutes, the Rams ran out to a 10-0 lead while forcing three turnovers and a miss from the Evangels.
Rogers was just getting started as he poured in 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first half and staked Texas Wesleyan to a healthy 50-30 lead at the intermission.
In the first half, the Rams blitzed the Evangels with 50% shooting from the field and a +7 margin on the boards, while forcing 12 turnovers.
The second half was more of the same as Texas Wesleyan stepped up the offense to 58% shooting from the field and 63% (5-8) from long range. The margin swelled to as many as 39 points (86-47), and the game turned into a thorough blowout. Demarcus Emanuel put the exclamation point on the victory with a two-handed jam entering the game's final minute.
Rogers finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Trevon Jeffery matched his teammate's 23 points while pulling down 12 rebounds for his 9th double-double of the season.
Ryan Harris came off the bench to supply 18 points, and
Najeal Young added 14 points and 7 boards.
Naiel Smith posted 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Devonse Reed and Ex'Zavia Seaton led the Evangels with 12 points apiece.
For the game, the Rams outshot the Evangels 54% - 31% from the field and 47% - 27% from distance. Texas Wesleyan led 52-14 in the paint, 22-10 in points off of turnovers, and 12-8 in second chance points.
The Rams now travel to Oklahoma City University for the SAC semifinals on Friday. They will meet 4th seeded University of Science & Arts (OK) who defeated Wayland Baptist University 100-99 in overtime on Tuesday. That semifinal contest is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start in Oklahoma City University's Abe Lemons Arena.
Ramblings
- The NAIA released the sixth edition of its
Division I Men's Basketball Coaches Poll on Tuesday. Texas Wesleyan checked in at No. 9. The Rams have been rated in the top-25 in 19 consecutive polls.
- Mid-America Christian leads the all-time series with Texas Wesleyan 6-3. The Rams are now 2-3 all-time in SAC Tournament play.
- The Rams lead the all-time series with USAO 9-8. This season the two teams split with each team winning on the road. Texas Wesleyan won 102-79 in Chickasha, OK, while USAO took an 86-80 win in overtime at the Sid Richardson Center.
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Dion Rogers is the team's leading scorer at 20.1 points per game.
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Naiel Smith leads the NAIA with 229 assists and 7.90 assists per game.
- USAO's Taran Buie leads the nation in scoring at 27.73 points per game, 2.4 points per game better than any other player.
- The Rams went 15-3 within the friendly confines of the Sid Richardson Center this season.
