THIRTEEN THREES LIFT RAMS OVER CAVS
December 2, 2006

Box Score

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK:  The Texas Wesleyan University men’s basketball team (7-2) converted 13 three-pointers on their way to a 73-69 win over St. Gregory’s University (2-4) at the Oklahoma City University Classic.

The Rams struggled from the free-throw line hitting just 10-of-20.  However, they had no trouble from three-point range where they shot 62% (13-21).  Justin Loewe led the long-range barrage by hitting 7-of-9 from beyond the arc.  The Rams also dominated the glass, out rebounding the Cavs 40-27.

In the early going, the Rams looked dominant.  Texas Wesleyan jumped ahead 21-9 in the first eight minutes.  However, the Cavaliers outscored the Rams 14-5 over the next eight minutes to close the gap to 26-23.  A Fred Eshon three-pointer gave the Rams an 11-point advantage, but SGU’s Ryan Wilson answered with a three at the buzzer to bring the score to 40-32 at the break.

St. Gregory’s scored the first 13 points of the second half to take a 45-40 lead.  From there the game saw five more lead changes before a lay-up from Nino Etienne put the Rams ahead for good at 62-61 with 4:14 on the clock.

The issue remained in doubt in the final seconds.  St. Gregory’s trailed 71-69 with the ball and 25 seconds on the clock.  With six seconds remaining, Kelvin Williams drew a charge to save the win for Texas Wesleyan.  On the ensuing possession SGU had to foul and Justin Loewe knocked down a pair of free throws for the 73-69 final.

Loewe finished with 24 points.  CJ Higginbotham added 13 points, while Nino Etienne pitched in 10.  Evan Patterson just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.  St. Gregory’s Patrick Jones led all scorers with 27 points.

In second game of the OCU Classic, Oklahoma City improved to 9-0 by dropping Langston University 96-76.