FORT WORTH, TX - No. 22 Texas Wesleyan Men's Basketball (12-3, 5-1 SAC) pulled away when it counted for the second-straight Sooner Athletic Conference game, ending the night victorious 97-87 over Southwestern Christian (9-4, 3-3 SAC).

Up 73-68 with 9:52 to play, the Rams scored 18 of the game's next 25 points, pulling ahead by 16, 91-75 with just 3:52 remaining. The bucket by Sam Lorenzen lifted TXWES over 90 points for the ninth-consecutive game.

Texas Wesleyan went on a 26-7 run on the backend of the second half on the road at Oklahoma City just two days later.

Lorenzen led the way with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting in a season-high 36 minutes on the floor, his fifth game this season over 20. Davon Berry added 17 points, four assists and two steals. The rest of the starters reached double figures too, with Peyton Sallee (13 points, six rebounds, two steals, two blocks); Sebastian Karwoski (13 points, six rebounds, 5-of-8 shooting) and LaMont Simmons (11 points, 4-of-5 shooting) all providing steady and reliable contributions. Akeem White came off the bench and used his electricity and athleticism to score 12 points and grab five rebounds in just 18 minutes.

The Rams shot 24-of-31 from the foul line, more importantly 16-of-17 in the second half. TXWES found a way to win - and score in bunches - despite an off night from outside (3-of-15). It was the first time Texas Wesleyan won a game with three or less treys made since beating Huston-Tillotson 59-56 on November 8, 2016 (3-of-17 in that contest).

The squad has shot over 50 percent in five of its last seven outings, tuning its points per game average up to 93 after Saturday afternoon's triumph, good enough for ninth in the NAIA. The Rams are 12th in the country in field goal percentage (50.4 percent), 14th in scoring margin (16.9), 15th in turnover margin (3.7), 19th in rebound margin (6.4) and 20th in defensive rebounds per game (29.1), all key stats that point to the dominance through the first 15 games. Lorenzen is seventh in the country in three-pointers made (53) and eighth in shots from down town per game (3.5).

The showdown between the top two teams early in the conference season is set. The 5-1 Rams will face the 6-0, No. 3 MACU Evangels Thursday night at the Sid Richardson Center. The Evangels defense has been grinding opponents to a halt, fourth in the country in field goal defense (38.3 percent). In the last three games, MACU opponents haven't cracked 60. Their scoring offense is top 10 too, averaging 93.3 (seventh). Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.