KANSAS CITY, MO: The 10th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (27-7) has advanced to the NAIA's Fab Four with an 82-73 victory over 3rd ranked Dalton State College (29-5) at the Buffalo Funds- NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Championships Saturday night.
The Rams are moving on to the Fab Four for the first time since winning the title in 2006. They will meet No. 2 William Penn University (IA) at 8:00 p.m. Monday evening in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium.
"We don't pass the eye test out here, but you can't measure how tough they are, how much they are willing to play for each other, and how much they want to be coached." Head Coach
Brennen Shingleton said of his team. "There is not a selfish bone in this team, and they're not ready to go home."
The Rams nearly led wire-to-wire against Dalton State. Texas Wesleyan shot 52% from the floor in the first half while
Dion Rogers poured in 17 points. The Road Runners held a brief lead at 33-31, but Rogers immediately hit a three and led his team to the locker room up 41-35.
In the second half, Rogers and
Najeal Young combined to score 10 points during a 13-2 run that put the Rams in charge at 57-45 midway through the period.
DSC whittled the margin down to three-points (65-62), but a triple from
Ryan Harris and a fast break jam from Young bookended an 11-2 run that brought the lead back to 12-points with 2:35 on the clock. Dalton State scored seven unanswered points, but the rams went 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final two minutes to halt the Roadrunners.
For the game, the Rams shot 48% from the floor and limited Dalton State to 40% shooting. After being outrebounded by one in the first half, the Rams were +7 in the second half. A high-energy Ram defense forced 22 turnovers which they converted to 31 points.
Five Rams reached double-figures in scoring led by Rogers' 22 points and 8 rebounds. Young and Harris each finished with 19 points. Young also brought down nine rebounds.
Trevon Jeffery contributed 10 points, and
Naiel Smith posted a line of 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Dalton State was led by Benat Hevia's 20 points. Sayvon Wilson finished with 18, and Reed Dungan scored 14 in the loss.
The Rams get a day off before taking on William Penn on Monday. The Statesmen (33-3) advanced with an 84-80 win over Langston University on Saturday. Monday's contest can be viewed live on
www.NAIAnetwork.com.
Ramblings
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Dion Rogers passed Aaron Whaley on Texas Wesleyan's all-time scoring list on Saturday. Rogers now ranks 20th all-time with 1,029 points. Jason Peterson (1995-97) is next on the list at 1,034 points.
- The Rams, in their 15th NAIA National Tournament appearance now hold an all-time tournament record of 16-13. The team's tournament history dates back to the 4th NAIB Tournament in 1940 when they reached the quarterfinals. The Rams have also made appearances in 1941, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1983, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2016. They have advanced to the round of 16, 8 times, the quarterfinals 3 times, and won one title in 2006.
- The Rams had never before faced their opponent in the first three rounds (University of the Cumberlands, The Master's University, and Dalton State College). The same is true of their Fab Four opponent, William Penn University.
