MOORE, Oklahoma-The Wesleyan men’s Basketball team improved to 3-0 on the season with their performance over the weekend at the Holiday Inn Classic hosted by Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College in Moore, Oklahoma. The Rams came out triumphant once again as they topped the Hillsdale Saints Saturday night, 80-64, to close out the tournament.

The Rams continue to play without the help of guards Marcus Johnson and David Peoples, however, both are expected to return soon.

The first half lead belonged to the Rams, though the Saints stuck close by. The Rams connected on 18 of 41 attempts from the floor for 43.9-percent, led by junior David Johnson, who had yet another monstrous performance. He was successful on nearly half of his shot attempts, snapped down numerous rebounds and blocked several shots.

The Saints shot just well enough to stay competitive as they hit 12 of their 38 shots, including 4 of 11 from the perimeter, to finish the half with a shooting percentage of 31.6-percent.

Impressive Saint performances came from Quentin McCowan and Scott Shinn as they landed several of their shots from long range to help their squad shoot a 36.4-percent three-point field goal percentage.

The trend continued in the second half until the last seven minutes of regulation. The Saints nipped at the heels of the Rams for the majority of the half, but when shooting began to fail for Hillsdale and Rams’ defense stepped up, the Rams began to pull away.

The Rams’ shooting improved to 45.5-percent in the second frame behind the outstanding performances from the floor by Schilder, Whitfield, and Kenneth Johnson. David Johnson’s dominance continued as well. Hillsdale’s percentage, however, only grew colder to a chilly 27-percent. This can be partly contributed to the excellent defensive play of Whitfield, who, once again, came up with key steals that led to an extended lead.

David Johnson’s presence down low demanded respect as he forced numerous Saints to change shots. Hillsdale’s McCowan’s great play continued. His performance was joined with that of Michael Bert and Irvin Ricky as they stepped up in the second frame.

“This tournament has definitely been a learning experience for us. We played well against good teams, in their own right, but we do have a long way to go,” said Head coach Terry Waldrop, “but we’re doing the things necessary to win.”

Waldrop also added, “We’re emphasizing our defense now.” Proof of this was the fact that the squad’s stingy defense has yet to give up a team shooting percentage of more than 40-percent, including a measly 29.3-percent against Hillsdale.”

Waldrop was particularly impressed with the great play of Schilder.

He said, “[Schilder] is getting credentials as a freshman that many players don’t get until [their junior or senior years].” He couldn’t help but chuckle when reading David Johnson’s incredible numbers.

David Johnson finished with team-highs in scoring, 20, rebounds, 16, and blocked shots, 7. He did all this with a migraine. Schilder hit for 14 points and nine rebounds. Whitfield tallied 13 points and added four boards and seven assists. Kenneth Johnson also chimed in with 12 points. The Rams, as a squad, ended the night shooting a consistent 44.6-percent.

Bert led Hillsdale with 12 points as he shot 66.6-percent from the field. McCowan added 11 points. Ricky and Shinn both posted nine points each.

The Rams return to Fort Worth to Face Southwestern Christian University in the home opener on Monday night at 7:30 PM.