FT. WORTH, Texas -- Junior Jake Caudle scored a game-high 31 points, but top-seeded Texas Wesleyan shot 58 percent from the field as the Rams outlasted the eighth-seeded John Brown University men's basketball team, 90-78, in the Sooner Athletic tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday evening (Feb. 27) inside the Sid Richardson Center.
Caudle eclipsed the 30-point plateau for the fourth time this season, scoring 21 points in the second half. He hit five of his seven triples in the second half en route to 21 second-half points. Freshman Densier Carnes added 12 points, four dimes and nine boards and freshman Darrell Jones contributed 10 points. Junior Josh Bowling finished with nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds as JBU won the battle of the boards, 42-34.
What You Need to Know
» The defending National Champions swept the three-game season series with JBU, twice winning in DFW.
» After averaging 24 points per game over his last four, junior Josh Bowling was limited to 9 points but paced the team with 10 boards.
» The Golden Eagle defense largely limited Branden Jenkins and Juwan Jones, 13 and 12 points apiece, but Ryan Harris still posted 28 points in the win.
» In a matchup that JBU shot a pedestrian 40.5 percent, Wesleyan hit back with a near-60% efficiency, and committed four less turnovers. |
The visitors kept the game tight early, but in the closing minutes of the first half, Jenkins threw down a monster dunk in transition that got the Sid Richardson Center crowd on its feet and sparked the Rams to a 10-2 run to close the period. After shooting 58 percent from the floor in the first half, the Rams led 46-32 at the break.
The lead swelled to 16 points before John Brown hit a flurry of triples, two from Carnes and another from Caudle, to bring the margin back to single digits at 51-43. Rob Thomas and Ryan Harris knocked down treys of their own, and the Rams eventually extended the margin back to 16 at 69-53 with eight minutes to play.
Ryan Harris keyed the offensive performance for the hosts, going for 28 points, four rebounds and five assists, while hitting 10-of-17 overall and 6-of-10 from long range. Branden Jenkins added 13 points while Curtiss Anderson and Juwan Jones each scored 12. Rob Thomas finished with 10 points as five players found double-digit scoring for the Rams.
Wesleyan now advances to its third-consecutive SAC tournament semifinals, which are held at Bill George Arena from March 2-3.
The Golden Eagles said farewell to its lone senior, Joshua Rhodius, who spent three seasons in the JBU lineup.
