HOUSTON, Texas - Senior Wesley Haynes had a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds but that wasn't enough as Texas Wesleyan fell to Houston Baptist, 101-96, in the first round of the Red River Conference tournament.

     It was a tale of two halves; as Texas Wesleyan (14-19) jumped out to an early 24-9 lead at the 14:32 mark of the first half. Junior Joey Gladney had the hot hand, nailing three treys during the span. Senior David Johnson also had seven points.

     "We believed if we were focused and had production from all of our positions we would have a great chance," head coach Terry Waldrop said. "Certainly with HBU's record at home it was a tough task, but we rose to the challenge and fell just short."     

     Houston Baptist (25-5) fought back, outscoring the Rams, 37-26 the rest of the first half, led by Michael Holmiquist's 12 first-half points.

     In the second half, the Huskies continued their streak, outscoring the Rams, 16-10 in the first six minutes of the second half to take a 62-60 lead with 13:47 remaining in the game. Elester Whitmore hit three treys during the stretch.

     Texas Wesleyan battled back using a 19-12 run over the next six minutes to take a 79-74 lead with 7:22 left in the game. Haynes and Gladney both scored six points during the stretch.

     Houston Baptist went on a 14-2 run over the next three minutes to take an 88-81 lead at the 4:08 mark of the second half.

     Texas Wesleyan was only able to cut the lead to three the rest of the way, as the Huskies made 6-of-8 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

     "The factors that really cost us were turnovers and depth down the stretch," Waldrop said. "When Schilder fouled out at the six-minute mark the game changed, as that put more pressure on our guards to make decisions and we simply didn't play well at that position well enough to win down the stretch. The six turnovers, combined with several defensive breakdowns at the guard spots, really hurt us in a game we felt like we could have won."

     Texas Wesleyan shot 55 percent (36-65) from the field and 70 percent (19-27) from the charity stripe. The Rams also shot 33 percent (5-15) from the three-point line.

     Houston Baptist shot 52 percent (34-66) from the floor and 77 percent (23-30) from the free-throw line. The Huskies also shot 44 percent (10-23) from behind the arc.

     Johnson finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four blocks, while Gladney chipped in 22 points and seven rebounds.

     "Haynes and Johnson both simply played their best games on the biggest stage of the year, Waldrop said. "That is a great measure of a player when everything is on the line. Certainly Johnson's foul trouble hurt us as he didn't play the minutes he usually does, but we found a way to stay in the game and led for 37 of the 40 minutes. Haynes simply was the best forward on the floor and has proven that consistently this season. Each of those guys in their own way are going to be very hard to replace as both people and as players."

     Whitmore led Houston Baptist with 27 points, making 7-of-11 treys.

     Texas Wesleyan end its season with a 14-19 record.