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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Southern
Nazarene's Jacob Mayfield's three-pointer at the buzzer led the
22nd-ranked Crimson Storm past Texas Wesleyan, 77-74, Saturday evening
in the Sleep Inn Classic at the Eagles' Nest.
"This is a really tough loss for us,"
head coach Terry Waldrop said. "I thought we showed as much
guts and character as any Wesleyan team I have had."
Down by two, Texas Wesleyan (8-7) took
a one-point lead with 1:59 left in the game on a dunk and three-point
play by Johnson. A free throw by Manuel Narvaez with 44 seconds
left tied the game up once again. After a missed layup by the Rams,
Mayfield hit the game winning three-pointer from the wing.
In defeat, senior David Johnson led the
Rams with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.
After winning four straight games, Texas
Wesleyan has now lost its last two. Rebounds haunted the Rams, as
the Crimson Storm (13-0) had a 45-35 advantage and tallied 18 offensive
rebounds.
In the first 15 minutes of the first half,
Southern Nazarene outscored the Rams, 35-21, to take a 14-point
lead. Narvaez led the way with eight points during the stretch.
Texas Wesleyan cut the lead to nine at
the half with senior Wesley Haynes' putback dunk with one second
remaining.
In the second half, Southern Nazarene held
steady outscoring the Rams, 21-18, to take a 64-52 lead with 9:08
remaining in the game.
Texas Wesleyan fought back to cut the lead
to, 73-71, at the 2:39 mark. Freshman Aaron Smith led the charge
with three treys and a free throw. Sophomore Brad Schilder chipped
in with five points and Haynes added four during the run.
Haynes tallied 14 points and four rebounds,
while junior Joey Gladney added 13 points. Smith scored 12 points
off of the bench for the Rams. Junior Anthony Martin had a season-high
eight points and dished out eight assists.
Texas Wesleyan shot 46 percent (30-65)
from the floor and 31 percent (5-16) from behind the arc. The Rams
also shot 60 percent (9-15) from the free-throw line.
Southern Nazarene shot 46 percent (32-70)
from the field and 31 percent (5-16) from the three-point line.
The Crimson Storm also shot 57 percent (8-14) from the charity stripe.
"We still need to focus on the big
picture, and that is winning conference," Waldrop said. "Our
team has really come together this weekend."
The Rams will be back in action Saturday
at 7:30 p.m., when they take on conference-rival Texas College at
the Sid Richardson Gymnasium.
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