Box Score

     FORT WORTH, Texas - The Texas Wesleyan men's basketball team held the lead with two minutes remaining, but couldn't hang on as they fell to Oklahoma Christian, 85-80, Tuesday evening at the Sid Richardson Gymnasium.

     Texas Wesleyan (1-3), fresh off of the best shooting night of the season, went toe-to-toe with the well-respected Eagles for the entire 40 minutes. Wesleyan opened with a 14-9 run five minutes into the game, keyed by five points each from juniors Khayri McKinney and Brad Schilder.

     Oklahoma Christian (6-0) fought back with a 33-25 run to close the half to take a 42-39 lead into the break. Jarred Merrill led the way scoring 15 points and pulling down nine rebounds in the process.

     In the second half, the Eagles opened with an 11-2 run to increase their lead to 53-41 with 17:18 remaining. They received two treys from Keith Harris to ignite the run.

     The Rams fought back to tie the score, 59-59, with 12:32 left in the game. Wesleyan used a 17-6 run, led by senior Vince Williams who came off of the bench to score nine quick points during the stretch.

     The two teams traded shots, but the key play came with 24 seconds left on the clock and the Eagles up, 81-80. Brady Page found Harris for an easy layup on an inbounds play to increase the lead to three.

     The Rams missed two three-pointers and Page knocked down two free throws for the five-point victory.

     Texas Wesleyan shot 41 percent (26-64) from the field and only 19 percent (5-26) from behind the arc. The Rams also shot 77 percent (23-30) from the free-throw line.

     Oklahoma Christian registered 45 percent (30-67) from the floor and a blistering 43 percent (9-21) from the three-point line. The Eagles also shot 80 percent (16-20) from the charity stripe.

     Schilder led the Rams with 17 points, while Johnson chipped in with 15 points and McKinney finished with 13 points. McKinney also had five assists to lead Texas Wesleyan.

     Merrill led the way fro Oklahoma Christian canning a game-high 31 points. Charles Baldwin tallied 21 points, while Page finished with an identical 21 points to go along with his game-high nine assists.

     Both teams finished with 41 rebounds, but the Eagles' prowess from behind the arc proved to be the difference.

     Texas Wesleyan will be back in action Nov. 30 when they travel to take on cross-town rival UT-Arlington. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Texas Hall in Arlington.