Box Score The Wayland Baptist Pioneers gave fifth-ranked Rogers State all they could handle for the first 30 minutes of Saturday afternoon's Sooner Athletic Conference basketball game. Unfortunately for the majority of the fans at Hutcherson Center, the final ten minutes was all Hillcats, and the visitors came out on top 98-79.
"I was really proud of the way the guys played for the first 30 minutes," said WBU Coach Matt Garnett. "Those final ten minutes, though, Rogers played like the number five team in the country… if not better.
"That's where we want to be. Really good teams find another gear when it gets to be crunch time. Hopefully we have the desire to get better and get over that final hump."
There were nine lead changes and the score was tied five teams in the first half. The Wayland men led by six with just over 13 minutes left in the opening period, but RSU came back to go up by seven with just under six minutes remaining. The Hillcats went into the locker room at the break on top, 47-44.
Isaiah Jackson hit a bucket on WBU's first possession of the second half to make it a one-point game, and after a RSU turnover, George Williams hit a trey to give the Pioneers their final lead.
The Wayland men stayed within single digits until a dunk by Kenny Edwards put the visitors up 72-61 with 9:44 on the clock.
Jamie Eisinger's three-pointer at the 7:28 mark got the Pioneers back to within six, 77-71, but that was as close as they could get.
WBU, which shot 51 percent in the first 20 minutes but cooled down to finish the game at 46 percent, had four players score in double figures led by George Williams and TJ Jacobs with 20 each. Isaiah Jackson put in 19 and Robert Curtis had 11.
The RSU men (16-3, 9-3) went into the contest as the NAIA's best-shooting team, hitting 52 percent of their shots from the field, and they didn't lose that top spot after making good on 58 percent against Wayland. Six Hillcats hit the double figure mark in scoring, led by Donald Williams, who came off the bench to contribute 17.
The Pioneers (8-11, 2-9) remain at home for two more games. On Thursday they will take on Southern Nazarene at 8 p.m. and then will close out the home stand on Saturday against Science & Arts of Oklahoma.
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