WAXAHACHIE, TX:  It might not have always been pretty, but the season opener for the Texas Wesleyan men’s basketball team, ranked 15th in the nation, certainly was entertaining.  The Rams (1-0) used a tremendous comeback in the final three minutes to defeat the College of the Ozarks (0-1) by a score of 81-77 at the Southwestern Assemblies of God Tip-Off Classic.

In the first half, the Rams forced 13 turnovers, but the College of the Ozarks Michael Bonaparte scored 18 of his game-high 30 points to keep his team close.  It appeared that the Rams would go to the locker room with a slim 4-point lead when Kharyi McKinney hit a three at the buzzer to put Texas Wesleyan ahead by a comfortable 43-36 margin.

Texas Wesleyan pushed its lead into double-digits at 52-42, but could not put the Bobcats away.  COA’s Heath Sitton then rattled-off eight unanswered points and a bucket from Chris Pullen tied the contest at 52.  The Bobcats would later take the lead at 56-54 with 8:35 remaining. 

With 3:49 remaining, the Rams found themselves in a 70-63 hole.  Evan Patterson then provided the spark his team needed when he converted a conventional three-point play to bring the Rams within four. 

That was the first of five consecutive possessions in which the Rams got three points.  After a field goal from Bonaparte, Ben Hunt drilled a three-pointer to pull TWU within three.  On the ensuing possession, Bonaparte made a pair of free throws, but Patterson answered again, this time with a trey to bring the score to 74-72 at the 2:00 mark.  As the Bobcats brought the ball up the court, Nino Etienne stripped the ball, made a layup and drew a foul.  Etienne’s free throw would put the Rams back on top at 75-74.  On their next possession, McKinney knocked down a trey to put Texas Wesleyan in the driver’s seat 78-74 with 56 seconds on the clock.

The Rams would make 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute to hold on for the 81-77 win.

McKinney led the rams with 25 points while Hunt added 13.  Patterson and Etienne each scored 10 points.  Patterson also brought down a game-high 8 rebounds.

The Bobcats out rebounded the Rams 41-27, but the Rams’ defense led to 26 turnovers.  The Rams also shot 47.5% from the field and made 11-of-22 three pointers.

“We were fortunate against a good team tonight,” said Head Coach Terry Waldrop.  “I thought we had a chance to put them away early in the second half, but I they are a good team and would not let that happen.  We had the leadership that we had to have and we made the plays we needed to make down the stretch.”

The Rams return to action on Saturday when they take on Kansas Wesleyan.  That game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. in Waxahachie, TX.