Moore, Oklahoma-- The Wesleyan Men's Basketball team opened the season on Thursday afternoon at the Holiday Inn Classic in Moore, Oklahoma, hosted by Hillsdale College. The Rams faced the Mid-American Bible College Evangels in the opening contest, and managed to pull out the victory in an overtime squeaker, 74-72.

The Rams, despite first-game jitters and several turnovers, stuck right with the Evangels, who have already played tough against two nationally-recognized NAIA programs this season. The Rams shot well from the field, 50% in the first frame, behind performance of David Johnson, who had a handful of blocks and a couple of put-back dunks early in the game. Mid-America, however, took a 32-31 halftime advantage over the Rams, despite 13 of 44 shooting from the floor.

During the break, the Rams seemed to find their legs and came out energized and ready to play. They started the second half shooting well, connecting 17 for 42 shots. Mid-America, however, heated up as well, hitting 44.2% of their field goals to keep the Rams from running away with the contest.

David Johnson once again led the Rams with monstrous, highlight- reel dunks and several blocked shots. Also coming through with large performances in the second half were senior guard James Whitfield, who shot close to 50%, and Brad Schilder, who broke out with a clutch shooting performance.

For Mid-America, Engel and Jeremy Chase, a former teammate of Wesleyan guard Jacob Holmes, both had terrific shooting performances, helping Mid-America take a five-point lead late into the game. The Rams got the stops they needed on consecutive steals by James Whitfield, and connected on two late jump shots, the second a clutch 3-pointer by Schilder with 15 seconds remaining, to send the game into overtime.

After back and forth scoring for 4:51 of the overtime frame, the teams were tied at 72, and Wesleyan had the ball, in-bounding from underneath their own basket. Head coach Terry Waldrop called timeout to discuss strategy. On the ensuing play, Schilder took the pass, maneuvered around his defender, then rimmed out a lay-up. The Johnson brothers, Kenneth and David, were both in position for the rebound, and David was credited with the go-ahead tip-in with just three seconds left on the clock. The Evangels threw up a prayer at the buzzer, but it fell unanswered.

“It was a gusty performance out there today,” said head coach Terry Waldrop, “especially since we were without two key players in Marcus Johnson and David Peoples. Everybody played well, and David [Johnson] gave one of the most dominating performances I’ve ever seen.”

Waldrop, who noted before the game that he was anxious about how an almost completely new group of players would come together early in the season, sang a different tune after the tough win. “They showed they’ve got some resolve about them. To come back at the end of regulation like we did, then win it in overtime, that’s big. Especially in the first game of the season.”

David Johnson ended his first game as a Ram with a triple-double. He scored 15 points on 7 of 12 shooting, and added 16 rebounds and 10 blocks. True freshman Brad Schilder also scored 15 for the Rams, hitting 6 of 13 from the floor and 3 of 8 from beyond the arc. He also had 9 rebounds and a block. James Whitfield added 13 points, and Kenneth Johnson and Aaron Whaley each had 9.

Mid-America was led by Aaron Engel, who had 22 points on 10 of 24 shooting. Kevin Davis and Jeremy Chase added 11 points apiece, and Anthony Jackson had 10.

The Rams open the season 1-0, while Mid-America falls to 0-3 on the year. The Rams return to the court on Friday afternoon at 2:00 PM to face the Eagles of Southwestern Oklahoma Christian University, and then finish out the Holiday Inn Classic on Saturday night at 8:00 PM against host Hillsdale College. The home opener for the Rams is Monday, November 11, at 7:30 PM against Southwest Oklahoma Christian.