By Alan Wiederhold
HT Athletic Communications
MARSHALL, Texas – Huston-Tillotson University's men's basketball team concluded its 2025-26 regular season on a high note Tuesday as they claimed a 73-70 win at Wiley.
The Rams (8-12, 3-9 HBCUAC) now turn their attention to the postseason HBCU Athletic Conference basketball tournament, which begins Tuesday, Feb. 24, at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala. HT's men will play on the first day of competition, though their tipoff time and opponent have not yet been determined.
HT graduate student and guard Blake Fisher (Austin, Texas / St. Mary's University) scored 12 points to lead four Rams scoring in double figures at Wiley. Caleb Campbell (Little Rock, Ark. / Holmes CC) scored 11 points and handed out four assists.
Malkeyce Harris (Austin, Texas / Temple College) came off HT's bench and scored 11 points in just six minutes of action; he made three out of his four 3-point attempts. Senior forward Cade Holzman (Austin, Texas / Angelina College) scored 10 points.
Shamir Mosley led Wiley (1-19, 0-11 HBCUAC) with 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
KEY POINTS:
Tuesday's win was the first for the Rams at Wiley since the 2008-09 season. HT held the lead most of the game, trailing for only a total of 2 minutes, 53 seconds at different points in the first half, and never by more than two points.
After taking a six-point lead into halftime, the Rams scored 11 unanswered points between the 16:20 and 11:33 marks of the second half to stretch their lead to 54-39, their largest advantage of the contest. The 'Cats had to spend the rest of the game chipping away at that deficit.
Wiley pulled to within two points with a dunk from Cortez Collins with 2:20 left in the game, but that was answered with a layup from HT's Kemondreon Cansler (East St. Louis, Ill. / Warner [Fla.]) on the next possession. Cansler also hit the ensuing free throw after being fouled, which was then followed by a Wiley turnover and two made free throws from teammate Isaiah Halliburton (San Antonio, Texas / Coastal Bend College) to give the Rams a 72-65 lead with a minute and a half left to play.
Trailing by three points in the waning seconds, Wiley fouled HT's Ja'Patrick Blackmon (Camden, Ala. / Wilcox Central) to the free throw line for a one-and-one attempt with 12 seconds remaining. Blackmon missed the first free throw, but both of Wiley's 3-point attempts missed the mark before time expired.
NOTEWORTHY:
• Cansler finished the game with nine points, nine rebounds, and two blocked shots for the Rams.
• Eleven different players scored in the game for the Rams; Shannon Robinson (Arlington, Texas / Richland College) chipped in six points, while Halliburton added five points.
• HT shot 42.1 percent (8 of 19) from 3-point range at Wiley. The Rams have shot 47.1 percent (16 of 34) over their last two games, both wins.
• The two teams finished with 37 rebounds apiece, which marked the first time the Rams either tied or outrebounded their opponent since their Dec. 6 at Concordia Texas.
• Did we mention that it was HT's first road win at Wiley since the 2008-09 season? Well, it was. The Rams' last triumph at Alumni Gymnasium was an 86-76 win Feb. 9, 2009. Gabe Haskins and James Black scored 19 points and 17 points, respectively in that game.
UP NEXT:
The Rams open HBCU Athletic Conference Tournament play on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at Stillman College, the host of the event. HT is currently the No. 6 team in the league's West Division, which would mean the Rams would open the tournament against the East's No. 7 team (currently Rust College) at 1 p.m. on the first day of the tournament.
Rust College (Miss.) (8-17, 3-7) still has two conference games to be played and could move past Oakwood (Ala.) (9-17, 4-8) in the East Division standings.
Meanwhile, the Rams are a half-game behind Paul Quinn, which will also make up its game at Wiley that was postponed due to the Texas ice storm in January. Should the Tigers lose at Wiley, the Rams could move past Paul Quinn for the No. 5 spot in the West based on tiebreaker procedures, setting up a later start time Tuesday.
The men's and women's teams opening-round times and opponents will be announced when the HBCU Athletic Conference reveals its tournament bracket.
– HT –
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