SECOND HALF LIFTS RAMS TO WIN
February 14, 2007

Box Score

FORT WORTH, TX:  The 25th ranked Texas Wesleyan University men’s basketball team (17-6, 10-3 RRAC) outscored Huston Tillotson University (5-18, 4-9) by twenty in the second half on their way to a 72-55 Valentine’s Day win.

In the first half, Huston-Tillotson led by as many as seven, 26-19, but the Rams hit four of their final five shots to close the gap to 33-30 at the break.

The second half was an entirely different story.  Texas Wesleyan shot 61% (14-23) while holding H-TU to 32% (9-28) and out scored Huston-Tillotson 42-22 in the frame.  Two minutes into the second half the Rams took their first lead of the ballgame, 37-36, on an Evan Patterson three-pointer.  Later a 7-0 run brought the margin to 54-42 with 8:59 to play.

In the final six minutes Texas Wesleyan out scored Huston-Tillotson 14-5.  The exchange that put the game away came after H-TU closed to 61-53 with under four minutes to play.  Kelvin Williams finished a dunk off an assist from Nino Etienne.  Williams then stole the ball and threw down another dunk.  On the ensuing possession, Patterson blocked Andy Laitinen’s shot, and Etienne finished a fast break.  After a missed three by H-TU, Patterson finished another fast break with a slam.  The 8-0 run took just over a minute and put the game well out of reach at 69-53 with 2:20 to play.

For the game, the Rams shot 56% while holding H-TU to 41%.  They won the battle-of-the-boards 38-20 and turned the ball over just six times in the second half after committing 11 turnovers in the first half.

Nino Etienne led all scorers with 22 points.  Evan Patterson turned in a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.  CJ Higginbotham finished with 12 points.  Doug Krause led H-TU with 17 points.