New Orleans, LA: The 20th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men's basketball team (4-0) remained unbeaten following an 83-73 win over No. 12 Dillard University (3-1) before a raucous homecoming crowd on Saturday.
The Bleu Devils entered the contest riding an 11-game winning streak on their home court and were coming off an impressive win over 10th ranked William Carey.
DU jumped ahead 15-10 in the early going when Head Coach
Brennen Shingleton called a timeout.
Najeal Young scored coming out of the timeout and the Rams came up with back-to-back defensive stops to string together six unanswered points and snag a 16-15 lead. That was just the start of a 16-4 run that put the Rams in command at 26-19 on the way to a 42-33 advantage at halftime.
The lead quickly swelled to 14-ponits (51-37) following a triple from
Ryan Harris 4:35 into the second half. Texas Wesleyan led by as many as 16 (68-52) and was able to keep the Bleu Devils at arm's length for the remainder of the contest.
For the game, the Rams shot 45.7% from the field and held DU to 41.3%. The Rams hit 9-of-31 three point attempts while Dillard went 5-for-26 from beyond the arc. The Bleu Devils out rebounded the Rams 44-38. Dillard also got to the free throw line for 25 attempts (converting 16) while the Rams took just 14 free throws and made 10.
Ryan Harris led the Rams with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting (4-7 from long range). He was one of five Rams in double-figure scoring.
Dion Rogers finished with 14, while
Najeal Young scored 13 points.
Peyton Prudhomme scored 11 points, and
Trevon Jeffery added 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Naiel Smith set the offense to the tune of 12 assists while adding five points.
Dillard was led by Austin Demetric who came off the bench to rack up 25 points and 12 rebounds.
The Rams will continue their trip through the Big Easy on Monday, when they take on Southern University at New Orleans. That game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start.
Ramblings
- Texas Wesleyan is 5-1 all-time against Dillard, having won each of the last three meetings. They have never faced Southern University at New Orleans
- Balanced Attack: The Rams have had at least five scorers in double-figures in three of their first four contests this season.
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Ryan Harris went 1-for-2 at the free throw line on Saturday. That marked his first miss at the stripe this season. He is 10-for-11 (.909) on the year.
