RAMS JUST MISS SECOND CONSECUTIVE UPSET
November 22, 2005

Box Score

NACOGDOCHES, TX:  The Texas Wesleyan University men’s basketball traveled to Nacogdoches on Tuesday to take on Stephen F. Austin State University.  The game marked the Rams second consecutive exhibition against an NCAA Division I team.

Texas Wesleyan was coming off a shocking 76-69 win over defending Southland Conference Champion Southeastern Louisiana University.  Early on it appeared that the Lumberjacks, also members of the Southland Conference, were determined to avoid the same fait.  However, the Rams came alive in the final fifteen minutes and gave SFA all it could handle before succumbing 82-73.

Head Coach Terry Waldrop was proud of his team’s performance in the early stages of the season.  “We have gone toe to toe with two of the best mid major Division I’s in the country,” Waldrop said.  “I don’t think that there is a team with a tougher non-conference schedule at this level, and almost every game has gone down to the wire.”

The Rams shot a solid 45% from the field in the first half, but the Lumberjacks shot a blazing 69% and jumped ahead 47-32 at the break.

SFA stretched its lead to 61-41 when Josh Alexander hit a three with 16:42 remaining.  At that point the Rams offense came alive.  Texas Wesleyan outscored SFA 23-5 over the next twelve minutes.  During that stretch, Kharyi McKinney scored ten points and capped the rally with a three pointer that cut the lead to 66-64 with 4:46 on the clock.

A free throw from SFA’s Matt Kingsley and a three from Gerald Fonzie stretched the Lumberjacks lead back to a comfortable 70-64.  A three-pointer form Brad Schilder cut the deficit to five points (75-70) with a minute left to play.  After a pair of threes from Alexander, Schilder hit another three cutting the lead to 77-73.  Unfortunately the Lumberjacks made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 31 seconds and held on for the 82-73 win.

McKinney led all scorers with 21 points.  Schilder added 16 while Scott Reasoner and Nino Etienne finished with 11 and 10 respectively.  Marcus Scott led the Lumberjacks with 18 points while Alexander finished with 15.  SFA dominated the boards, taking a 43-25 edge, but the Rams held the Lumberjacks to just 30% shooting in the second half.

“We felt like we let one get away tonight,” said coach Waldrop.  “However, I thought we were resilient.  This was our fourth game in eight days, and to come back like that on the road against a Division I team says a lot about this team’s character.”

Waldrop went on to praise the Lumberjacks.  “To their credit, they hit some big threes when they needed them.  We have got to be able to defend.  In the first half we didn’t, but in the second half we did, unfortunately twenty minutes will not get it done very often against a quality opponent.”

The Rams will face one more Southland Conference opponent before beginning their conference schedule.  Texas Wesleyan will meet UT-Arlington on Monday, November 28.  That game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. in Arlington, TX.