Box Score Just like in the women's game before it, one team in the men's contest between Wayland Baptist and Oklahoma City went on a big run that carried over from the first half to the second. Unlike the women's game, however, it was the team from Wayland that made the big run. Also unlike the women's game, the team that made the run (Wayland) failed to hold on to the lead as the Stars rallied late to defeat the Pioneers, 54-49.
After OCU took a 22-17 lead on Orlan Jackman's dunk with 2:06 left in the opening period, WBU scored the next seven points to go up at the break, 24-22.
Bobby Watkins scored five points in a 9-3 Pioneer run to open the second half and give the Wayland men a 34-25 advantage with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game.
The Stars came back to tie it at 37 six minutes later on a three-pointer by Brandon Moton, and then took the lead on another Moton long-distance bomb the next time down the court.
Wayland briefly regained the lead on a Leashore jumper that made it 44-43 at the 3:08 mark, but Moton quickly drained two more treys on consecutive possessions to put his team up for good.
A junior from Beaumont, Texas, Moton finished up with a game-high 29 points. He hit seven of his eight three-pointers in the second half and missed just two of his shots from behind the arch, one in each half.
Watkins led the Pioneers with 13 points. Rodrigo Silva added 12, and Johnny Terra had a team-high seven boards. Leashore handed out five assists and was credited with three steals.
The two teams were even in the paint with 22 points each, and nearly even on points off turnovers, with WBU having just a two-point advantage, 21-19.
WBU did got 10 points on nine offensive rebounds while the visitors failed to convert any of their five offensive boards into baskets. The big difference of the game was in shooting percentage. The Pioneers shot just 35 percent from the field, including 28 percent from the three-point line. On the other end of the court, OCU hit 51 percent from the field and made good on 9-of-16 three-pointers.
Wayland, 7-14 overall and 2-12 in conference play, returns to the road for the first time in three weeks on Thursday when they take on Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla. On Saturday, they will travel to Chickasha, Okla. for a contest against USAO.
