RAMS TAKE 28-POINT BLOWOUT
January 6, 2007

Box Score

WAXAHACHIE, TX:  The Texas Wesleyan University men’s basketball team (8-3, 2-0 RRAC) exacted some revenge against Southwestern Assemblies of God University (2-11, 0-3) on Saturday.  The Rams defeated the Lions, who were the last team to defeat Texas Wesleyan before they rattled off five wins to take the 2006 national championship, 83-55 at the Full Life Center.

In the first half, the Rams shot just 28% from the field, but a 27-17 rebounding margin including 12-3 in offensive rebounds led Texas Wesleyan to a 28-18 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Rams continued to dominate the boards while picking it up on the offensive end.  Texas Wesleyan poured in 55 points in the second half, and led by as many as 33-points on their way to the 83-55 win.  The exclamation point on the victory came with just under four minutes to play when SAGU’s Matt Daniels missed a dunk on a fast break, and Kelvin Williams finished an alley-oop slam from Nino Etienne on the next possession.

For the game, the Rams shot 50% from the field while allowing SAGU just 32%.  They were just four rebounds short of a single-game school record with 57.  Their 23 offensive rebounds led to 26 second chance points.

“We had great balance tonight,” said head coach Terry Waldrop, “and when you dominate the boards like that you give yourself a great chance to win.”

For the second straight game, the Rams posted five players in double-figure scoring.  CJ Higginbotham led all scorers with 19 points.  Kelvin Williams finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds.  Evan Patterson and Nino Etienne also finished with 13 points while Dane Dmitrovic scored 12 points to go with nine boards.

SAGU’s Julio Osorio turned in a strong game with 18 points and 16 rebounds.