Box score
Khayri McKinney audio
Head Coach Terry Waldrop audio 1
Head Coach Terry Waldrop audio 2

     FORT WORTH, Texas - Tommy Johnson tallied 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists to lead Texas Wesleyan to a 81-76 victory over Texas A&M-International Thursday evening in Red River Athletic Conference action.

     TAMU-International (12-16, 11-9 RRAC) opened the game on a 17-9 run in the first seven minutes to take an eight-point lead with 12:20 left in the first period. Hector Garza went for six points, while Kyle Edwards registered eight points and nine rebounds in the early going.

     Texas Wesleyan (17-11, 13-7 RRAC) responded by scoring the next 13 points over the next two minutes to take a 22-17 lead with 10:16 remaining in the half. Juniors Khayri McKinney and Ben Hunt both tallied five points each.

     The two teams traded baskets for the final 10 minutes and the Rams took a 40-37 lead into the break. Hunt, Johnson and McKinney all had 10 points each in the first frame, while Garza led the visitors with 11 points.

     In the second half, the Rams came out firing, four of their first six shots to increase the lead to 52-43, with 15:44 remaining in the contest.

     However, the Dustdevils were not done. They outscored the hosts, 20-10 over the next 10 minutes to take a 63-62 lead with 5:05 remaining.

     Down 67-66, with 2:45 remaining, the Rams dug deep and 10 of the next 12 points to take a 76-69 lead with 53 seconds remaining. Johnson canned 3-of-4 free throws and McKinney added a fast-break layup in the final minute of play.

     The victory ended the Rams' brief two-game losing streak and put Texas Wesleyan into a third-place tie with Texas College with two games remaining.

     Hunt and McKinney both tallied 17 points on the night, while junior Brad Schilder added 12 points.

     Edwards finished the evening with 16 points and a game-high 21 rebounds. Both Garza and Keith
Simpson ended with 18 points apiece.

     Texas Wesleyan shot 48 percent (31-65) from the field and 75 percent (9-12) from the free-throw line. The Rams also shot 31 percent (10-32) from behind the arc.

     TAMU-International shot 39 percent (33-84) from the floor and 33 percent (3-9) from the charity stripe. The Dustdevils also shot 23 percent (7-31) from the three-point line.

     Texas Wesleyan will be back in action Saturday when they host conference-leader Houston Baptist. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Sid Richardson Gymnasium. The contest has been deemed Homecoming. Houston Baptist defeated the Rams, 92-87 on Jan. 22nd in Houston.