FORT WORTH— The Texas Wesleyan men's basketball team (16-6, 9-5 SAC) lost a tough matchup against Mid-America Christian University (15-9, 8-8) 78-75 on Thursday night at the Sid Richardson Center.
 
The Rams started the game off executing on the offensive end of the court with three high percentage shots by Vydal Bradford, Lamine Komara, and Peyton Sallee to make the score 6-5 early. MACU weathered the storm with a 12-2 run to build a 17-8 lead over the Rams with 14:17 left in the first half.
 
Elijah Elliot zipped a laser pass across the court to the sharpshooter Payton Sallee who knocked down a three-pointer. Elliot knocked down a three-pointer on the next possession to cut the score to 19-14. The Evangels used a fast pace of play to extend their lead to 28-20 with 9:31 left in the first half.
 
The Rams were stifled by the defense as they only scored 4 points in a 5-minute span. Although, the Rams struggled offensively, a Kristian Lafayette layup cut the deficit to 8 with 3:41 left in the first half.
 
The Rams picked up their defensive intensity towards the end of the first half. The Rams were able to cut a 15-point deficit in half to 8 with 1:03 left in the first half. MACU gained momentum back with a three-pointer by Toni Kumanovic to extend the Evangels lead to 40-28 at halftime.
 
The Rams opened up with energy in the second half with back-to-back three-pointers by Payton Sallee, and Kristian Lafayette to make the score 40-34 with 18:13 left in the game. After the Evangels extended their lead to 10, Payton Sallee scored five straight points to cut the deficit to 45-39. Sallee brought contagious energy in the second half with his shot-making ability.
 
Senior Sebastion Karwoski exploded for a personal 7-0 run with tough layups and a three-point play, followed by a soaring Vydal Bradford finish to tie the game at 48 with 11:57 left in the game. MACU regained the lead after consecutive baskets by Kendal Scott.
 
MACU shifted the momentum of the game with an 11-4 run to give them a 59-52 lead over the Rams with less than 8 minutes to play. Elijah Elliot continued his impressive passing with a dime to Lamine Komara for an easy dunk to cut the deficit to three points for the Rams with 6:24 left in the game.
 
A Payton Sallee  three-pointer, consecutive baskets by Vydal Bradford, and a completed three-point play by Kristian Lafayette energized the crowd as the Rams tied MACU at 69. Wasting no time, the Evangels hit a three of their own to reclaim a 72-69 lead with 1:59 left in the game. Kristian Lafayette answered back with a layup of his own to cut the deficit to 1 point with 54.1 seconds left in the game. MACU converted on two free-throws to take a 74-71 lead with 30 seconds left in the game. After trading baskets down the stretch of the game, the Rams found themselves down 78-75 with 6.2 seconds left in the game.
 
As time expired, Lamine Komara missed the game-tying shot as the Rams fell after a hard-fought game. The Rams had 4 players score double-figures. Junior Payton Sallee scored 18 points, junior Kristian Lafayette corralled his thirteenth double-double of the season with 17 points and 15 rebounds, senior Vydal Bradford scored 13 points, and senior Sebastian Karwoski  scored 10 points.
 
The Rams move to 9-12 all-time against MACU. TXWES will hit the road on Saturday, Jan. 29 to take on Southwestern Christian University at 3:45 p.m.