WAXAHACHIE, Texas - With four minutes to play in the first half, it looked like the Rams were headed to Kansas City. Houston Baptist’s victory in the early semi-final meant that the winner of the late contest received an automatic bid to nationals - and the Rams were running away with the game. Brad Schilder’s three-pointer at the 4:11 mark put Wesleyan ahead 42-18 over a struggling, in-fighting Jarvis Christian squad, and the throng of Wesleyan fans in attendance was buzzing.

For the final four minutes of the half and continuing three minutes into the second frame, however, Jarvis Christian came back to life. During that six-minute span, they outscored Texas Wesleyan 24-5 and climbed back into the game. They would go on to outscore the Rams 49-25 in the second half, winning the game 80-70.

Wesleyan had taken the early lead, scoring the first six points on easy lay-ups Kenny and David Johnson. The Bulldogs finally got on the board two minutes in on a short jumper by Charles Williams, and pulled to within two at 13-11 a few minutes later, but the Rams responded with a 12-1 run to open up a commanding lead.

Eric Tatum, a key factor in the Bulldog’s defeat of Wesleyan on February 8 in Fort Worth, hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 11, but James Whitfield followed with a three-pointer, and Aaron Whaley hit two in a row to push Wesleyan out in front by 23 points with 5:43 on the clock. After a Williams lay-up brought the score to 39-18, Schilder joined the three-point party. His bomb with 4:11 on the clock increased the Rams’ lead to 24, but set the stage for the Jarvis comeback. The Bulldogs scored 13 of the final 16 points in the half to go into the locker room down 45-31.

Jarvis Christian continued the run into the second half, outscoring the Rams 11-2 in the first two minutes. A pair of Kevin Risher three-pointers finished the scoring burst, pulling the Bulldogs to within five points at 47-42. Wesleyan scored the next five points to get the lead back to double digits, but couldn’t put Jarvis Christian away. Risher hit another three to spark a 16-5 run. His three-pointer with 8:45 remaining capped the run, and gave Jarvis their first lead of the game, 60-59.

Neither team scored for the next two minutes, until Johnny Quarles’ jumper extended the Bulldog’s lead to four with six minutes to play. Two minutes later, with Jarvis still in front by four, Whitfield hit a big three-pointer to pull the Rams back to within one at 65-64, but that was as close as they would get.

Tatum converted a three-point play and followed with a three-point basket to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to eight points with 1:42 on the clock. Schilder’s three-pointer a few seconds later gave the Rams a sliver of hope, but the team went ice cold from the floor, missing their next five attempts as the Bulldogs hit free throws to pull away.

Tatum led the Bulldogs with 20 points, half of which came from the free throw line. Rusher added 18, hitting six of nine three-point attempts, and Williams scored 12. The Bulldogs shot 40 percent from the floor, 36 percent from three-point range, and 58 percent from the free throw line. They totaled 43 rebounds, led by Edward Arnold with eight.

Wesleyan had five players score in double figures, led by Schilder with 15. Whitfield finished with 13, and Whaley, Gladney, and David Johnson each scored ten. David Johnson scored eight and led the team with 12 rebounds. Kenny grabbed nine boards, and Whitfield finished with eight for the Rams, who pulled down a total of 53 on the night.

The Rams shot well in the first half, hitting 53 percent of their shots. They went cold after the break, though, and ended up at 43 percent for the evening. They hit nine of 29 three-point attempts (31 percent) and just three of 13 free throws (23.1 percent) in the game.

Barring an unlikely at-large invitation to the NAIA national tournament, the season ends for Wesleyan with a record of 22-12, their second straight 20-win campaign. Check back next week for a detailed look back at the 2002-2003 season, and a look ahead to next year.