Eagles Fly Away in Second Half in Win Over Rust

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. (1/3/26) – The Williams Baptist University men's basketball team rounded out non-conference play with a 101-74 road victory over Rust inside Kinzell Lawson Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

Four Eagles finished with double-digit points in the win, led by Deion Wesson 33 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field.  Aseem Luckey broke out with his first double-double as an Eagle on 20 points and 12 rebounds.  Jesse Washington followed up with 16 points, and Benjamin Noonan finished with 10.

As a team, WBU went 36-of-70 (51.4 percent) from the field while holding Rust to 28-of-62 (45.2 percent) shooting.  Williams dominated the rebound battle 40-27, and scored 27 points off Bearcat turnovers.

The first half featured six ties and seven lead changes as both teams traded buckets back and forth.  Rust pulled an 8-2 run to take a 14-9 lead and force an Eagle timeout.  WBU took its first lead of the day on a layup from Jesse Washington with 9:21 left in the first half.  Williams finished the first half on a 14-5 run to take a 46-43 lead into the break.

The Eagles caught fire out of the locker room, starting the second half on a 19-4 run to take a 67-46 lead.  WBU shot 19-for-30 (63.3 percent) from the field in the second half while holding the Bearcats to 12-of-33 (36.4 percent) from the floor to out-score Rust 55-31 in the final 20 minutes.

Williams took its largest lead of the day when a Zion Whitmore jumper put the Eagles ahead by 29.  Rust hit one more layup before the buzzer to set the final score at 101-74.

The win moves WBU to 10-2 overall on the season.  Next, the Eagles return home to continue American Midwest Conference play against Crowley's Ridge on Tuesday, Jan. 6.  Tipoff against the Pioneers is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the Southerland-Mabee Center on the campus of Williams Baptist University.