Lions fall after stumbling in 2nd half

HAMMOND– Texas Wesleyan’s Scott Reasoner scored eight points in a decisive 16-4 second-half run and the NAIA Rams spoiled the debut of Southeastern head coach Jim Yarbrough with a 76-69 upset last Saturday at the University Center.

Kharyi McKinney scored 20 points while Ben Hunt added 17 points and 11 rebounds as Texas Wesleyan (3-3), ranked No. 15 in NAIA, made 31 of 33 free throws and outscored Southeastern (0-1), 44-35, in the second half. The Lions, who opened the game on a 12-2 run, shot 35 percent from the floor for the game and went 15-for-50 (30.0) in the second half.

&#8220It was disappointing to get as many 2-3 foot looks and not get a basket,” Yarbrough said. &#8220We got some great looks from behind the 3-point line, but only finished 2-for-17. Defensively, there’s no security blanket like we’ve had the past couple of years, so we need to build a fort up front.”

Southeastern, which will host Troy University on Friday, got back-to-back 3-pointers by Quennell Green to take a 6-2 lead before extending its lead to 12-2 on a bucket by Jonathan Walker. The Lions led 26-16 on a jumper by Ricky Woods at the 8:11 mark before TWU chipped away at the lead, as McKinney’s 3-pointer cut the lead to 32-31 with 1:03 left.

The Lions built a 43-38 lead with 16:41 left on Woods’ three-point play, but Reasoner scored eight straight for the Rams in an 8-2 run that gave TWU a 46-45 lead with 14:05 left. The Rams extended their lead to 54-47 on Ben Hunt’s layup with 11:49 left before Southeastern came back to tie the score at 56-56 when Walker followed a Woods miss with a thunderous dunk at the 9:23 mark.

After a pair of free throws by Hunt, who tied a University Center record as he finished 12-for-12 from the line, Walker again tied the game after rebounding his own miss, but McKinney drained a 3-pointer and Brad Schilder hit a running jumper to put Texas Wesleyan ahead, 63-58.

Woods, who finished second in the Southland Conference in scoring last season, led all players with 23 points while pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds. Walker tied a career-high with 19 points while pulling down a career-best 15 rebounds while Terry Bryant finished with 11 points and Green 10. After making its first two 3-pointers in the game, Southeastern went 0-for-15 from behind the 3-point line while going 11-for-20 from the free throw line.