Box score
Kansas City, Mo. - Texas Wesleyan University won a battle of unseeded teams as the Rams defeated Oklahoma Christian University 67-62 Friday in the second round of the 69th Annual Buffalo Funds - NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship. The 32-team, single-elimination tournament runs March 15-21 at Municipal Auditorium.
Texas Wesleyan improves to 22-9 on the season and advances to Saturday's quarterfinal round. It will be the Rams' first trip to the quarterfinals since 1941, when they lost to eventual national champion San Diego State 44-42. They will face fourth-seeded Carroll College (Mont.), who defeated Campbellsville University (Ky.) 78-74 earlier today. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. (CST).
Senior guard Ben Hunt led a balanced attack for Texas Wesleyan with 17 points, while junior forward Nino Etienne contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Evan Patterson added 14 points and a team-leading 12 rebounds, while senior guard Khayri McKinney came off the bench to post 12 points in the effort for the Rams.
After trailing by as many as five points in the second half, Texas Wesleyan battled back. Five different players scored during an 11-0 run that gave the Rams their largest lead of the contest, 54-46, with 9:15 remaining. Oklahoma Christian regained a 59-58 lead on a tip-in by senior Kendrick Jackson with 3:55 to play. Etienne answered on Texas Wesleyan's next possession with a basket to give the Rams the lead for good.
Hunt led Texas Wesleyan to the victory from there as he scored the Rams' final seven points of the contest, including four free throws in the final 1:20 of play.
Junior guard Keith Harris led all scorers with 26 points for Oklahoma Christian. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Senior guard Brady Page added 13 points for the Eagles.
Oklahoma Christian was making its eighth national tournament appearance and upset 12th seeded Lee University (Tenn.) 77-70 in the first round. The Eagles had advanced to the second round each of their last three years. Oklahoma Christian ends its season with a record of 22-11.
Courtesy of the NAIA
