By Parker Turley 

FORT WORTH-- The Texas Wesleyan men's basketball team (9-3, 3-2 SAC) dropped a home conference game to the #16 ranked University of Science and Arts (9-3, 4-0) on Wednesday evening at the Sid Richardson Center.

Down by as many as 10 points to start the game, TXWES finished the first half strong and led 37-31 after 20 minutes of play. The Drovers used 50-percent shooting in the second half to slowly chip away at the Ram lead. The Rams saw a 7-point lead evaporate over the course of 7-plus minutes and extend into a 17-point swing down the stretch before USAO took the 84-76 win. 

The Rams shot 27 of 68 from the field (39 percent.) TXWES also shot 4 of 25 from the field (16 percent.) The Rams struggled to take care of the ball as they had 11 turnovers and allowed 25 points off those turnovers.

TXWES did have a slight advantage in the paint as they outscored the Drovers 36 to 32 in the block. The Rams led by 7 at one point and were not able to hold on to the lead.

TXWES got a huge lift from the bench as senior  VydalBradford scored 20 points and junior Elijah Elliot scored 10 points. Senior Davon Berry also scored 19 points and facilitated the Rams offense.

TXWES is 12-15 all-time against the Drovers. The Rams will take a two-week break for the holidays and will be back on the court on Wednesday, Dec. 29 at the Dallas Christian Classic as they take on Texas College.