FORT WORTH – No. 11 Texas Wesleyan Men's Basketball (1-0) showed grit and just a glimpse of its potential in a 67-65 victory over No. 7 LSU-Shreveport (1-1).

Juwan Jones and Rob Thomas sprang to life after Julian Torres fouled out with 8:44 to play, with the Rams trailing 50-48. In the final 8:44, Thomas and Jones scored 15 of the team's 19 points (Thomas with seven and Jones with eight), including a Rob Thomas circus shot on a drive – with the foul – that gave Texas Wesleyan its first lead.

In the final seconds, LSU-Shreveport had a chance to tie or take the lead as Tim Coleman raced the full length of the floor to get up a decent-but-contested look at a layup with three seconds left. Ding collected the rebound and the clock ran out on the Pilots.

Torres was the most efficient player on the floor while he was in, scoring 15 points and grabbing five rebounds on 7-of-10 shooting in just 19 minutes. The junior transfer from Southern Illinois-Evansville showed range, quick feet and a soft shooting touch in a shortened showing.

Jones scored a game-high 20 points, also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing two assists. He got to the line 11 times, sinking seven of them and gave the Rams 36 minutes. Thomas dumped 15 points on the Pilots with four assists and three boards.

Ding Lwal Ding gave the Rams 33 minutes and fell just short of a double-double – nine points and nine rebounds. Another newcomer, Joe Cook-Green gave a well-rounded spark, collecting five points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Ding is a junior transfer from Lee College while Cook-Green is a transfer from Eastern Arizona.

The Rams won the game despite a struggle from long-range. Texas Wesleyan hit just 5-of-24 threes, starting 1-of-13 before momentum started to swing in the second half. The difference was the defense, holding LSU-Shreveport to 41% shooting.

Texas Wesleyan also swept some key categories, including points in the paint (34-24), points off turnovers (22-14) and second-chance points (16-4), outrebounding the Pilots on the offensive glass 17-6.

In the final 5:32, the lead changed hands seven times. The Rams kept the advantage for good after Jones' bucket put TXWES up 62-61 with 1:23 to play.

RAMBLINGS
In two meetings against LSU-Shreveport in 2017, Texas Wesleyan gave up 102 points at home in a 102-80 loss and 85 points in an 85-75 defeat in Louisiana.

Last season, the lowest point total any opponent held the Pilots to was 70 (Dillard). The last time LSU-Shreveport was held to 65 points or less was a 65-69 loss to Our Lady of the Lake on February 24, 2017 – 41 games ago.

Just twice the Rams held an opponent to 65 points or less last season.

HEAVYWEIGHT MATINEE
Before Texas Wesleyan took the court, the top two teams in the NAIA Coaches' Poll tipped off the Texas Wesleyan Champions Classic. No. 2 LSU Shreveport pulled the mini upset over No. 1 The Masters 94-87.

WHAT'S NEXT
Texas Wesleyan faces No. 2 LSU-Alexandria Friday at 3 p.m. in a battle of teams that won Thursday. LSU-Shreveport will face The Masters.