FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (9-6, 4-3 SAC) took an 84-75 win over John Brown University (9-5, 4-2 SAC) in Sooner Athletic Conference action at the Sid Richardson Center on Thursday.
John Brown made Texas Wesleyan work on every possession, but the Golden Eagles couldn't slow a hot-shooting Rams team in the second half.
Midway through the first half, seven unanswered points from the reigning NAIA National Player of the Week,
Branden Jenkins, sparked a 10-0 run that put the Rams up 28-17.
John Brown recovered and got the margin all the way down to five, 38-33, at halftime.
In the second half, the Rams picked up their offensive production to 58.3% shooting from the floor, and kept the Eagles at arm's length
JBU battled to tie the game at 68 with just under four minutes to play, but the Rams answered with layups from
Juwan Jones and Jenkins. Later, a three-point play by
Curtiss Anderson gave the Rams a cushion at 75-70 with 1:26 to play. The Rams hit 7-of-8 free throws as time wound down to pull away for the 84-75 victory.
Jones finished with a game-high 28 points in the game, while Jenkins finished with 21. Anderson added 12 points for the Rams.
Texas Wesleyan also enjoyed the return of
Ryan Harris. Harris, a senior guard from Randolph, NJ, was the team's 6th man last year and earned all-tournament honors during the Rams' National Championship run. On Thursday, he made his season debut and supplied 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
Texas Wesleyan outshot John Brown 51%-45% from the floor, 44%-32% from long range, and 76%-61% at the free throw line. The Rams led for 32:41, while John Brown led for just 5:48 and the game was tied for 1:31.
The Eagles were led by Marquis Waller and Benjamin Smith who both finished with 11 points.
The Rams will return to action on Saturday when they host Bacone College. That game is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. start in the Sid Richardson Center.
Ramblings
- The Rams lead the all-time series with John Brown 7-3. They are now 43-38 all-time in SAC play.
- Texas Wesleyan is 21-8 all-time against their next opponent, Bacone College.
- The SAC is once again proving to be the NAIA's toughest conference. Through Thursday's action, the 11 teams in the SAC standings are separated by just 3.5 games from top to bottom. The Rams are currently just a half-game behind John Brown, Mid-America Christian, and Wayland Baptist who lead the conference at 4-2.
