RAMS RIP LIONS, 89-70
February 4, 2006

FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University men’s basketball team improved to 14-6 on the season with a convincing 89-70 win over Langston University (9-7) in the Sid Richardson Center on Saturday.

In the first half, the Rams shot 54% from the field and 42% from long range.  Hot shooting, and 12 first half points from Khayri McKinney led to a 40-29 Texas Wesleyan lead at the break.

In the second half, Texas Wesleyan really heated up.  The Rams shot 67% from the field and hit 6-of-8 three-pointers (75%) in the final 20 minutes.  The Lions cut the lead to 10 at 46-36, but Texas Wesleyan rattled off 13 unanswered points to regain command.

Texas Wesleyan led by as many as 24 points at 71-47 with 8:12 on the clock.  The Lions fought back briefly, cutting the lead back to 10 at 71-61 with 5:01, but the Rams answered that run by hitting 11-of-12 free throws down the stretch.

In the closing seconds, Langston prolonged its own misery by calling its last timeout with 1.8 seconds on clock, but in the end, red-hot shooting from the Rams was simply too much to handle.  On the game, Texas Wesleyan shot 59% from the field, 55% from long range, and 83% form the charity stripe while holding Langston to 41% shooting from the field.

Once again, the Rams posted four players in double-figure scoring.  Ben Hunt led the way with 24 points.  Nino Etienne recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards.  Evan Patterson added 15 points, and Khayri McKinney just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine assists.  Ernest Carr led the Lions with 16 points.

Texas Wesleyan will return to action on Monday, January 6, when they travel to Muskogee, OK, to take on Bacone College in Red River Athletic Conference play.  That game is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. and will be preceded by a women’s game.