Box Score It's not often that a team shoots 50 percent from the floor and loses, but when the opponent hits over 70 percent of their shots in the second half and finishes the game with a field goal percentage of 63.8 percent, then odds are they are the team that will come out on top. That's what happened Tuesday night at Hutcherson Center as the hot-handed University of the Southwest Mustangs defeated the Pioneers 82-68.
Wayland, which has played the last two games without the services of 7'0 starting center Taylor Janowicz who is out with an ankle injury, was forced to play much of Tuesday night's contest without starting guard Andrew Davenport who is still trying to recover from a twisted ankle suffered in last week's meeting at Hobbs. The Pioneers struggled in the game early, falling behind 44-29 at the half.
USW extended its lead to 20 on a three-point play by Demetrius Evans at the 12:13 mark. but the Wayland men battled back, closing the gap to ten just four minutes later.
The Mustangs wouldn't allow WBU to get any closer, however. Twice more the margin got back to within ten, but USW hit its free throws down the stretch to nail the victory and even the series at one win a piece.
Rishi Kakad led four Pioneers in double figures with 18 points. Rodrigo Silva put in 16, Johnny Terra came off the bench to contribute 13, and Tommie Sanders added 10. Terra was the game's leading rebounder with nine boards, while Sanders handed out a game-high seven assists.
WBU led the battle underneath, outscoring the Mustangs 44-36 in the paint and winning the rebounding battle, 32-22.
Outside of the lane, USW hit seven of their 14 three-point attempts for the game and made good on 13 of their 22 second half attempts from the free throw line. On the other end of the court, the Pioneers hit four treys, none in the second half, and made just ten trips to the charity stripe in the contest.
The Wayland men will be off for a week to prepare for the Sooner Athletic Conference opener against Lubbock Christian, scheduled for Monday, Nov. 16 at Hutcherson Center. The Flying Queens and Lady Chaps tip-off at 6 p.m. followed by the men at 8:00.
