Box Score Balanced scoring and overall consistent play by the Wayland Pioneers resulted in an 80-55 win over the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon at Hutcherson Center.
The WBU men got double-digit scoring from four players and shot just over 53 percent from the field during both halves in their most convincing conference win of the season.
Bobby Watkins posted his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Griffin contributed 14 points, Rishi Kakad put in 13 more, and Rodrigo Silva added 11 to lead the WBU charge.
Junior point guard Tommie Sanders was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for eight points and dished out a game-high six assists. Johnny Terra had three treys and scored nine points.
The Pioneers dominated inside, outscoring USAO 40-20 in the paint, and winning the battle of the boards, 41-24. They held the Drovers, who jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, to just eight points in the paint during the first 20 minutes of play.
After Watkins hit a jumper to tie the game at 21, Wayland went on a 17-10 run in the final 7:47 of the first half to go into intermission with a 38-21 advantage. Terra hit back-to-back treys to start the second period to extend the lead to 13, but USAO came back to make it 46-37 with 13:50 on the clock.
A 26-10 run over the next nine minutes sealed the win for the Pioneers, who kept their slim post-season hopes alive with the win and broke a three-game losing streak.
There were only 16 free throws attempted in the contest, 12 by Wayland (9-14, 5-13) and five by the visiting Drovers, who fell to 5-16 and 3-13.
The Pioneers return to the road for the final time in the regular season with games at Rogers State (16-9, 9-8) and John Brown (18-8, 10-8).
