By Eric Montgomery | NAIA Media Coordinator

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box Score) No. 3-seeded Texas Wesleyan surrendered a 15-point first half lead, but surged ahead down the stretch to claim a 74-68 first round win over sixth-seeded Cumberlands (Ky.), Thursday afternoon in the 2017 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium. The Rams will play the winner of No. 2-seeded The Master’s (Calif.) and No. 7-seeded Benedictine (Kan.) in a second round game on Friday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. CST

Dion Rogers led the way for Texas Wesleyan (25-7) with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Ryan Harris tallied 16 points and four rebounds. Najeal Young chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds, Trevon Jeffery added 10 points and six rebounds, and Naiel Smith shared game-high honors on the glass with 10 rebounds.

"Getting this first win is a huge relief because this is where we wanted and expected to be," said Texas Wesleyan head coach Brennen Shingleton. “The challenge was to get this first one out of the way so our players know what it takes. We didn’t play well, made a lot of mistakes. We missed some easy shots and missed on some key defensive plays, but the fact is, again we stuck with the program.”

Texas Wesleyan raced to a 14-2 lead inside the first five minutes of the game and led by as much as 15 at the 7:25 mark of the first half on a steal and bucket by Jeffery. The Rams shot 47.1 percent (16 of 34) in the first half and tallied 24 points in the paint to finish the opening stanza with a nine-point advantage.

Cumberlands flipped the script to start the second half and took its first lead after a 12-1 run over the opening 4:39 after the break. Chance Morton scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in that stretch for a brief two-point lead.

The Patriots maintained a three-point lead at the 8:03 mark after both teams took turns going in front through the middle stages before Texas Wesleyan pushed back in front for good. Young hit five of six free throws in a 1:02 span, followed by a three-pointer by Jeremy Crane for a five-point lead. Morton twice brought Cumberlands within two as late as the 1:48 mark, but the Rams made five free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.

“We played as good as you could, and it was back-and-forth down to the wire,” said Cumberlands head coach Don Butcher. “They are challenging to guard and we didn’t keep them off the foul line. We did a lot of good stuff today and I am proud of how we competed as we played one of our best games of basketball in a long time."

Morton and Marquis Yates each finished with a double-double for Cumberlands, grabbing 10 rebounds apiece while Yates tallied 10 points. Bernard Samuel chipped in with 15 points and six assists.

Cumberlands finished its season with a record of 22-9.

Game Notes:
Texas Wesleyan – The Rams are making their 15th trip to the national championship, second in-a-row and seventh in the 2000s… Texas Wesleyan improved to 8-7 in first round games, moving to 14-13 all-time in the event… Coach Brennen Shingleton is making his second appearance at the tourney, leading Texas Wesleyan to consecutive trips in 2016 and 2017… Texas Wesleyan has hit 100 points or more six times on the year… Four players have accounted for 20 double-doubles on the season entering the tournament… Trevon Jeffery has recorded 10 doubles… Najeal Young has seven doubles on the season entering tournament play… Young is the NAIA leader in assists with 234 as the tourney began – he did not have any tonight… Don Rogers just missed his second double-double of the year, as he finished with 18 points and nine rebounds

Cumberlands – The Patriots have made four-straight appearances and 10 in the past 12 years… The 25 overall appearances are the second-most by any of the 32 participants this year… Head coach Don Butcher has been with the program for 17 years, compiling an overall record of 368-174… Butcher has made the national tournament 13 out of his 17 years… The longest run in the national tournament for the Patriots was in 1997 when they advanced to the semifinals… The Patriots had won their previous three first round games before falling to Texas Wesleyan… Entering the first round of the tournament, the Patriots were in the top ten in three categories this season; third in three-point field goal percentage (0.294), fifth in total rebound defense (29.6), and sixth in scoring defense per game (65.5).

General Game Notes - Cumberlands is one of four teams in the tournament from the Mid-South Conference… The Mid-South Conference is currently 3-1… Four games have been decided by six points or less in the first 13 games of the tournament… The higher-seeded team has enjoyed a 11-2 mark thus far in the tournament… Texas Wesleyan advances to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2010.