Box Score The Wayland Baptist men upset Science and Arts of Oklahoma 72-67 on Saturday afternoon at Hutcherson Center. Senior Bobby Watkins posted a double-double in his first start of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jamie Eisinger, also a senior, led the Pioneers with 15 points.
Wayland let an 11 point first half advantage almost totally disappear, going into the dressing room at the half clinging to a 34-32 lead. USAO scored the first bucket of the second period to tie it up and took the lead three minutes later.
The Pioneers trailed 47-43 with 12:54 on the clock, but scored the next 11 points to retake the lead for good. Marquis Green had a three-pointer, Eisinger scored four points, and Watkins and TJ Jacobs both had big dunks during the run.
"I was so proud of the effort we gave today," said first-year Pioneer coach Matt Garnett. "Even late when USAO started hitting some big shots to get back in it, our guys never gave up and got in there and battled to get some big rebounds down the stretch.
I was especially proud of the way Johnny Terra played. He was really active today and that was an important part of the game. And what can you say about Bobby Watkins. The guy was a stud. He's 6'5 and a guy 6'10 couldn't guard him."
After Watkins' dunk put Wayland up 54-47 at the 10 minute mark, USAO worked its way back to within one on Trell Porter's trey with 4:21 left in the game. Isaiah Jackson's 15-foot jumper made it 68-65, and then USAO cut it to one again with 1:10 remaining on Benjamin Berry's put back.
Jacobs finally sealed the deal for the Pioneers when he hit both his free throws with eight ticks on the clock.
"We finally won a close one," said Garnett. "We haven't been able to do that since we started conference. I hope winning this one will get us over that hump."
WBU hit 46 percent from the field, while holding USAO to 38 percent. The Drovers outscored the Pioneers 26-22 in the paint and had one more rebound. The home team made ten more trips to the free throw line, knocking down 13-of-19 attempts. USAO went 4-of-9 from the charity stripe.
George Williams contributed 12 points for the Pioneers, while Jacobs added 10 and had a game-high five rebounds. Terra pulled down seven boards.
The Pioneers held USAO's 6'10 center Kyle Hunt to 13 points, six points below his average. The Drovers were led by Zacharias Lewis, who came off the bench to score 19, 15 of which came off the long ball.
Garnett's squad improves to 9-12 overall and 3-10 in conference play. USAO, which dropped both games of its Texas road trip, falls to 12-8 and 8-6. WBU is back on the road for its next two games, at Oklahoma Christian on Thursday and Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday.
