Box Score Shawnee, Okla.--- The Wayland Baptist Pioneers have been playing strong defense over the course of the last three weeks, and that didn't change in Thursday night's hard fought 64-55 loss to #2 Oklahoma Baptist. The Bison (20-1, 12-1) entered the game as the NAIA's second-highest scoring offense, averaging almost 93 points, but the Pioneers held OBU to its lowest offensive output of the season, nearly 29 points below average.
Wayland (8-12, 4-11) led for much of the first half, but a 14-2 Bison run to end the period put the Pioneers down 28-23 at the break.
The WBU men cut the lead to one on two occasions in the final 20 minutes, but OBU answered both times. The Bison, who went 0-7 from long range in the first half, opened up the game late with two crucial treys from point guard Tim Bowman to help extend a four-point Bison lead to 54-44 with 5:21 remaining, and the Pioneers were able to hit just one field goal in the final four minutes.
Tommie Sanders led Wayland with 12 points, while Jason Griffin added 11 and Rodrigo Silva put in 10. Bobby Watkins and Taylor Janowicz each pulled down a team-high five rebounds. Johnny Terra led WBU in the theft department with two steals, and Sanders and Rishi Kakad handed out three assists a piece.
The Pioneers hit just two three-pointers in the game, one each by Griffin and Kakad. WBU hit 41 percent from the field, was 2-of-14 (14.3%) from the three-point line, and converted 11 of their 15 free throw attempts.
The Bison, the NAIA's best shooting team with a field goal percentage of 59.6%, hit 21-of-39 (53.8%) against Wayland. They were 3-of-11 (27.3%) from beyond the arc, and went to the charity stripe 11 more times than the Pioneers, getting points on 19 of their 26 attempts.
OBU held a slight edge on the boards, 28-25, although Wayland had the advantage on the offensive end with 12, compared to eight by the Bison. Both teams scored 10 second chance points. The Pioneers took care of the ball just a bit better, committing nine turnovers, while forcing 11.
The WBU men will attempt to get back in the win column with another road game on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. against St. Gregory's University (5-13, 0-13).
