FORT WORTH, Texas - Houston Baptist took a one-point halftime-lead and outscored Texas Wesleyan by 12 in the second half, to defeat the Rams, 98-85, Monday evening in Red River Conference play.

     Junior Joey Gladney led Texas Wesleyan with 17 points and nine rebounds, while senior Wesley Haynes chipped in with 15 points and four steals.

     "The difference in this game was transition," head coach Terry Waldrop said. "We gave up too many easy buckets on the fast break. It made it very difficult to stay within striking distance."

     Houston Baptist (16-3, 12-0 RRAC) opened the game on a 13-4 run with 13:45 left in the first half. Ricky Bennett led the charge with eight points, while Matt Autenrieth chipped in with four points.

     Texas Wesleyan (11-10, 7-4 RRAC) fought back as Gladney hit two three pointers to cut the lead to 18-14, at the 11:13 mark. Senior David Johnson also had four points during a 10-5 run.

      A lay-up by Elester Whitmore gave the Huskies a nine-point lead, 31-22, at the 7:10 mark of the first half, but the Rams countered, running off 10 straight points to take a 32-31 lead. The run was capped off by a Haynes dunk on a pass from Johnson that sent the crowd into a frenzy at the 4:04 mark.

     After a Houston Baptist timeout, the Huskies regained their composure and took a 40-37 lead with 39 seconds to go on a lay-up by Johnny Trahan.

     With eight seconds to go in the half, sophomore Dario Henderson dribble the length of the floor and made a driving lay-up at the buzzer to cut Houston Baptist's lead to 40-39.

     In the second half, the Huskies opened on an 18-10 run to increase their lead to 58-49, with 13:12 remaining in the game.

     Texas Wesleyan scored four straight points on lay-ups by sophomore Bryan Carter and freshman Aaron Smith to cut the lead to five. That is as close as the Rams would come as Whitmore led the Huskies with 15 of his 21 points coming in the second half.

     "I thought we did some things well," Waldrop said. "Anytime you can outrebound Houston Baptist you know you are doing some things right. They are always among the national leaders in that category."

     Houston Baptist has now won 12 games in a row. Texas Wesleyan has lost three of its last four conference games to fall into a tie for third place with Jarvis Christian in the Red River Conference.

     "Every game in this conference is a battle," Waldrop said. "You have to put your last game behind you and prepare for the next one because you have to be ready for every game."

     Texas Wesleyan did receive outstanding bench play as Henderson tallied 10 points and six assists and Carter finished the evening with 15 points in only 19 minutes of playing time.

     "Brian hasn't played in two years so it is going to take him some time to get his game back on track," Waldrop said. "He is a very competitive player and he plays to win. He is starting to show what he can do"

     Bennett finished the night with 21 points and four assists. Paul Nelson tallied 14 points and five rebounds for the Huskies.

     Texas Wesleyan will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to take on conference-rival Wiley College at 7:30 p.m.