FORT WORTH, Texas - The Rams hit four three-pointers in the final four minutes of the first half to go into the break down one point, then built up a 12-point lead with under 13 minutes to play in the second frame, but the Huskies, ranked #1 in the most recent NAIA national poll, utilized a much deeper bench to outscore the tired Rams 39-18 over the remaining time, posting a 92-82 victory in the Sid Richardson Gymnasium on Monday night.

Aaron Whaley opened the scoring for Wesleyan, hitting a three-pointer just a few seconds into the contest. Brad Schilder followed with a lay-up, and the Rams quickly took a 5-0 lead. After HBU got on the board with a pair of baskets, the Rams went on a brief 7-0 run to open up an eight-point lead five minutes in. David Johnson hit a pair of buckets in the paint, Schilder connected again, and James Whitfield hit a free throw to put the Rams up 12-4 with 15:21 on the clock.

The Huskies came back with a 16-8 run, though, and managed to tie the score at 20 with 8:14 left. Rod Nealy, the NAIA’s leading scorer, connected on three consecutive baskets for HBU during that stretch. The run continued as the Huskies scored ten of the game’s next 11 points, taking a 30-21 lead with 5:05 left in the half. The Rams, however, had an answer. Schilder, a freshman, led the charge by scoring ten points in the next 3:35 to help Wesleyan cut the lead to two points. Whaley then closed out the half with a three-pointer, pulling the Rams to within one at 40-39.

Wesleyan dominated the opening minutes of the second frame, outscoring the Huskies 25-12 in the first seven minutes to take a 64-52 lead. Again, Whaley and Schilder led the charge, scoring 11 and six points respectively. David and Kenny Johnson each added a bucket in that span, as did Whitfield and Joey Gladney.

The Huskies came back, though, as Nealy and Paul Nelson heated up. The two combined to score 18 points as part of a 21-8 run over the next six minutes to grab a one-point lead at 73-72. Denver Cook, a seven-foot three-inch center, then took over, scoring six points as part of a 14-3 run that put the Huskies up 87-75 with 2:40 left to play. Aside from a Whaley three-pointer with 1:19 to go, the Rams didn’t hit a field goal in the final ten minutes, and couldn’t mount a charge to get back into the game, and the Huskies held on for the 92-82 win.

Nealy led all players with 27 points on nine of 21 shooting. He also recorded a game-high 17 rebounds. Nelson scored 20 off the bench, and Holmquist added 15 points. After shooting just 41 percent in the first half (including 0-7 from beyond the arc), the Huskies shot lights-out in the second frame, hitting 19 of 33 shots (6-9 from deep) to finish the game with a respectable 49 percent shooting percentage.

For the Rams, Whaley led with 26 points, and was six of 13 from three-point range. Schilder scored 25 on 10 of 18 shooting, and also posted a team-high seven boards and five assists. David Johnson followed up Saturday’s triple-double with 12 points and three blocks, Whitfield scored eight points, and Gladney scored seven. As a team, the Rams shot just 42 percent from the floor (28-66), and were out-rebounded 46-24. They were nine of 31 from three-point range, and 15 of 22 from the line.

The Rams drop to 20-10 on the year, 12-6 in conference play. The Rams stay at home to face Langston University on Saturday night and Bacone College the following Monday. Both games tip-off at 7:30 PM. Depending on the outcome of other Red River Conference action on Monday night, the Rams could still hold the second spot in the conference, or could fall to the third spot. In either case, though, with just two games remaining, the Rams seemed poised to host a first-round match in the eight-team conference tournament, beginning on March 8.