Complete Box Score

FORT WORTH, Texas – The Rams jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and never looked back, leading almost from start to finish as they downed conference rival and pre-season RRAC favorite Huston-Tillotson.

Marcus Johnson scored the game’s first five points on a three-pointer and a drive to the basket, and David Johnson scored on a nice assist from James Whitfield as the Rams took control of the game early. Sean Wade wouldn’t let Huston-Tillotson fall too far behind, though, connecting on his first three three-point attempts to bring the score even at 9-9. Marcus Johnson grabbed a rebound and went coast-to-coast to put the Rams up by two, and they would never trail again.

David Johnson added to the lead with a powerful slam at the 13:30 mark, and Kenny Johnson connected as well to give the Rams a little breathing room. Back-to-back three-pointers by Whitfield and Aaron Whaley five minutes later provided plenty of cushion, extending the lead to 12 with seven minutes remaining in the half. Huston-Tillotson would make a run to narrow the gap, and in fact brought the score to 37-32 with under a minute left in the frame, but Brad Schilder connected on the last shot of the half, putting Wesleyan ahead 39-32 at the break.

Huston-Tillotson opened up the second half playing well. After Whaley’s three-pointer briefly extended Wesleyan’s lead, Marcus Sessions came alive for the H-T Rams, scoring seven points in a 9-0 run that brought Huston-Tillotson to within two with 13 minutes remaining. Wesleyan, however, responded with a 5-0 run to get the lead back to seven, and would push the lead up to 11 points, 66-55, as the clock rolled past six minutes.

Huston-Tillotson never got within six points for the remainder of the game, as Marcus Johnson continued to drive to the basket, either scoring or drawing the foul. The Rams had the lead up to 13 with less than ten seconds remaining, but allowed Wade to pad his stats with an uncontested lay-up at the buzzer.

Wade led Huston-Tillotson with 23 points on seven of 16 shooting, making four of seven three-pointers. He also grabbed ten rebounds for a double-double. Jerry Shorter connected for 15 points, and Marcus Sessions scored 14. As a team, the Rams shot just 37 percent from the field, 25 percent from long-range, making just one of 11 three-pointers in the second half. They drop to 6-10 on the season, and 4-3 in conference play.

Marcus Johnson led Wesleyan with 29 points on eight of 11 shooting. He hit two of three three-pointers, and sank 11 of 12 free throws on the night. He also tied for the team lead with eight rebounds. Aaron Whaley hit four of six three-pointers and finished with 17 points, and Joey Gladney scored ten. David Johnson scored eight, grabbed eight boards, and added five blocks. Whitfield also finished with eight points for the Rams, who improve to 14-4 overall and remain atop the Red River Conference standings at 6-0.

The Rams travel to Houston on Monday to face #7 Houston Baptist University. After an overtime victory against Huston-Tillotson on Thursday evening, the Huskies (14-2, 6-1) sit a half-game behind the Rams in the conference standings.

The next home game for the Rams is on February 1 against conference rival Southwestern Assemblies of God University. Tip-off is at 7:30 PM.