OKLAHOMA CITY, OK: The three-time defending Sooner Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion and 20th ranked Texas Wesleyan University Men's Basketball team (21-9, 14-6 SAC) closed the regular season with a hard-fought 77-74 loss at No. 12 Oklahoma City University (22-7, 14-6 SAC) on Sunday. OCU claimed a share of the SAC regular season title as both teams finished with identical 14-6 conference records; however, the Rams earned the No. 1 seed in the
SAC Tournament and the automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship that comes with it.
The Tournament
The top-seed in the tournament and the bid to nationals was decided on a tiebreaker. Texas Wesleyan and OCU split their home-and-home series this season. Both teams also split with third seeded Wayland Baptist, but the Rams swept fourth seeded SAGU while the Stars split with the Lions.
This marks Texas Wesleyan's third consecutive SAC Championship. The team has notched a dominant 41-15 record in league play during that stretch.
The top-seeded Rams will host eighth seeded John Brown in an SAC Quarterfinal contest on Tuesday. That game is set for a 7 pm tip-off in the Sid Richardson Center. The Rams have advanced to the SAC Semifinals in each of the last two seasons but have not won the SAC Tournament in their four previous seasons of membership.
Sunday's Game
On Sunday, an emotionally charged OCU team playing on Senior Day forced the Rams to play from behind. The Stars led by as many as 12 points in the first half on their way to a 42-33 advantage at the midway mark.
The Rams scored the first seven points of the second half, getting within two (42-40) with a three from
Rob Thomas, and the game was tight for the remainder.
Texas Wesleyan trailed by five, 73-68, in the closing minutes, but
Juwan Jones scored and
Branden Jenkins came up with a big steal. The Stars fouled Jenkins who hit two big free throws to get within a point with 1:19 on the clock.
OCU later got the ball back after an offensive foul call, and Ridell Camidge pushed the margin back to three points. Jones was good for two more free throws on the other end, and the Rams fouled to send the Stars to the line with nine seconds to play.
Terence Bonhomme was good on both free throws to push the score to 77-74. The Rams got a look at a game-tying three, but the shot was just off the mark and OCU came away with the win.
Jenkins paced a valiant effort with 28 points, and 10 rebounds. Jones finished with 19 of his own, while
Ryan Harris contributed 14 points and 8 boards, and
Curtiss Anderson finished with 10 points.
Camidge and Samuel Williams led the Stars with 17 points each.
Up Next
The SAC Tournament begins on Tuesday with quarterfinal contests being hosted by the higher seed. Semifinals and the SAC Championship Game will be played at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, AR, on Friday and Saturday.
Ramblings
- Texas Wesleyan is 53-41 in five seasons of Sooner Athletic Conference membership.
- OCU's win knots the all-time series between the two schools at 13-13.
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Branden Jenkins' 28 points moved him to 22.3 points per game on the season and moved him to 5th on the NAIA's scoring list. He is currently .01 points per game behind OPSU's Jace Kerr in scoring amongst SAC players; however, Jenkins (573 points) has outscored Kerr (441 points) who played in six fewer games by 132 points on the season.
- The Rams are 8-3 all-time against John Brown including a pair of wins this season: 84-75 in Fort Worth on January 11, and 79-76 in Siloam Springs on February 17.
- The Rams are 2-4 all-time in SAC Tournament play, having reached the semifinals in each of the last two seasons.
