by FORT WORTH, Texas – After a highly anticipated return to the court, No. 8 University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (9-2, 4-2 SAC) suffered a tough 96-90 road-loss at Texas Wesleyan University (8-2, 4-2 SAC).
The Drovers offense was scoring early and often in the first half, jumping out to a 52-43 lead after 20 minutes of action.
Following the break, the Rams kept chipping away at the Drovers lead and eventually tied the game at 69-69 with 11:35 remaining in regulation. From that point, USAO went on a 6-0 run to lead 75-69 halfway through the second half. Just three minutes later, the score was tied again at 77-77. With 4:08 remaining in regulation, Texas Wesleyan pushed out to an 86-81 lead, but the Drovers cut the Rams lead to just four with 40 seconds remaining. The Rams were able to cling to the lead and maintained the advantage until the final buzzer.
The Drovers were fairly efficient on offense, shooting 32-of-69 (.464) from the field, but only shot 11-of-32 (.344) from beyond the arc. The Rams shot 32-of-71 (.451) from the field and a staggering 13-of-26 (.500) from deep.
Offensively, USAO was led by Cameron Hines (SR/Ft. Cobb, OK)’ 26 points. Hines also added a pair of assists and rebounds.
Stephon Hall (Mvskoke Creek) also broke the 20-point threshold, to go along with three assists and three steals. Elvin Rodriguez (SR/New York, NY) concluded with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Gerard Makuntae (JR/Austell, GA) was one point shy of recording a double-double, closing with nine points and 10 rebounds. Trenton Sandifer (SR/Dallas, TX) added eight points, two rebounds, and two steals. Tre’veon Ellis (JR/Oklahoma City, OK) closed the night with five points and three rebounds. Boubacar Diakite (JR/Mali) concluded with four points and three rebounds.
