Box Score CHICKASHA, Okla. --- USAO's Norris Rumph hit a three-pointer with just seconds remaining to lift his team to a 75-73 win over the Wayland Baptist men in Sooner Athletic Conference basketball action Saturday afternoon.
The Pioneers were leading 73-72 with 33 seconds left after Isaiah Jackson hit one of two free throw attempts. The Drovers drove down the court and Javier Ramos missed a three-point attempt with 13 seconds on the clock. Trell Porter came out with the basketball after a mad scramble for the ensuing rebound, setting up Rumph's game-winner.
After Rumph's trey, the WBU men had one last opportunity, but TJ Jacobs's shot hit the back of the rim and bounced out.
"Great chance," replied Pioneer Coach Matt Garnett when asked about Jacobs's last shot. "We got it to him on the run. The play worked perfectly. The shot was contested but it was a balanced 17-footer. It just didn't go in.
"I'm proud of the way we competed today, especially in the second half. It came down to a loose ball, and they came up with it and hit a huge shot."
USAO took the early lead in the game, jumping out to an eight-point advantage 11 minutes in. George Williams got WBU back in it with consecutive baskets, including a three, and Rodrigo Silva hit a lay-up with nine and a half minutes left in the opening period to put the Pioneers within one at 19-18.
Marquis Green hit a trey at the eight minute mark to give Wayland a 23-21 advantage. The score was tied at 30 with just over four minutes left, but the Drovers concluded the first half with a 9-0 run.
Williams hit his second trey of the game to open the second period. The Pioneers scored another six unanswered points to knot things up at 39, but USAO responded with five straight to regain the advantage.
With the score tied at 44, Green hit two more threes to give the WBU men a six-point advantage, but USAO responded once again.
Neither team could manage more than a four-point advantage until Philip Harris hit a lay-up at the 2:43 mark to make it 70-65 in favor of the home team. A conventional three-point play by Bobby Watkins and two free throws by Jackson tied it back up. The bucket by Watkins which came with 2:16 on the clock was the final field goal of the game for the Pioneers.
Jackson led Garnett's team with 17 points. Williams added 16 points and had a game-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Green and Watkins also hit the double-figure mark in scoring with 12 and 10 points respectively.
The Pioneers hit 41 percent of their field goal attempts, which included 7-of-14 from the three-point line. They were 18-of-22 (81.8 percent) from the free throw line.
USAO, which improved to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play, made 49 percent of its field goals but went just 7-of-22 from long distance. The Pioneers won the battle inside, outscoring the Drovers 24-22 in the paint and pulling down four more rebounds (37-33) than the home team.
"There were a lot of positives today in the way we played," said Garnett whose team is now 6-6 on the season and 0-4 in conference play. "However, we have to clean up our turnovers. We had too many, forced and unforced."
The Pioneers gave USAO 16 points off of 20 turnovers in the contest.
"We have to stay the course," Garnett added. "We practiced very well in preparation for this afternoon's game and we were very close to having it pay off. I am proud of the guys for that."
Garnett's team will look to pick up its first conference win of the season on Monday against Southern Nazarene University. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 3 p.m.
