HOUSTON, Texas - Sophomore Brad Schilder had 20 points and four assists but Texas Wesleyan fell to Houston Baptist, 76-63, Monday evening at Sharp Gymnasium.

     Houston Baptist (4-2, 3-0 RRAC) had four players reach double figures, with Rickey Bennett and Ray Rose both scoring 13 points to lead the way. Helping lead the way for the Rams, were junior Joey Gladney with 17 points and seven rebounds and senior David Johnson chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds.

     "I thought the game was a very competitive one that we had an excellent chance to win," head coach Terry Waldrop said. "The difference was that HBU was able to make plays the last part of the game and we were not. We have to take care of the ball and rebound better if we are going to still be playing in March."

     Houston Baptist jumped out to an early 12-5 lead at the 14:12 mark, receiving six points from Bennett and four from Matt Autenrieth.

     Texas Wesleyan (4-4, 1-1 RRAC) fought back to take the lead, 26-22, on the strength of a 21-10 run. Sophomore Brad Schilder keyed the run with nine points.

     The Huskies outscored the Rams, 12-6 down the stretch in the first half to take a 34-32 lead at the break.

     In the second half, the Rams opened with an 11-5 run to take a four-point lead, 43-39, at the 14:36 mark. Gladney led the charge with eight points and Johnson chipped in three points.

     Houston Baptist then went on an 11-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 50-43 lead with 11:19 remaining in the game. Michael Holmquist, an All-American last season for Houston Baptist, scored his only four points of the game during that span.

     A three-pointer by Gladney at the 9:36 mark cut the Husky lead to three, 50-47, but that is as close as the Rams would get. Houston Baptist closed out the game on a 26-16 run, led by Rose who had seven points down the stretch.

     Texas Wesleyan shot 39 percent (23-59) from the field and 35 percent (6-17) behind the arc. The Rams also shot 55 percent (11-20) from the charity stripe.

     Houston Baptist shot 37 percent (29-78) from the floor and 29 percent (6-21) from the three-point line. The Huskies also shot 60 percent (12-20) from the free-throw line.

     "I thought our veteran players were ready for the environment in Houston," Waldrop said. "Brad Schilder and Joey Gladney both had good games and David Johnson had a very solid second half. We need to get some consistency in our rotation and out of our key players. So far this year we haven't been able to do that. Hopefully that will come with experience."

     The Rams will be back in action Wednesday, when they travel to take on UT-Arlington. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard live beginning at 6:50 p.m. on www.ramsports.net.

     "Certainly UT-Arlington will be a huge challenge for us Wednesday night, but honestly our focus has to switch quickly to our next three conference games, beginning with UT-Permian Basin this Saturday," Waldrop said.