Box Score
Matt Garnett would love to be put in the position to make the kind of decision he did Friday night at the end of every game.
With his hot-shooting Pioneers comfortably ahead of Dallas Christian College, the Wayland coach ignored last-second pleas from WBU's student fans for their team to try to top the century mark, instead instructing his players to run out the clock. As a result, Wayland wound up with a 99-62 victory over the Crusaders.
Had the Pioneers (6-4) reached 100 points, it would have been the first time since Wayland defeated Barclay College (Kan.), 121-38, early in the 2007-08 season. Still, it was, by 13 points, Wayland's highest point total of the season, topping an 84-55 final over Barclay.
The Pioneers ended with nine 3-pointers, eight of which came before halftime when Wayland was in command, 55-24.
“We got ourselves started by playing solid defense, which was our main focus,” Garnett said. “I thought we had great defensive effort and great defensive focus, and when you do that it allows you to get an offensive rhythm started and play with confidence on offense.”
The Pioneers did that the entire evening. All 13 Wayland players scored, led by
Chance Billups' 16 points,
Reggie Fondren's 15 and
Eric Milam's 11.
Tanner Hazelbaker and
Byron Randle just missed double digits with nine apiece.
The Crusaders (1-12) put only one player in double figures, Malcolm McCarty with 20.
Billups came off the bench and was sizzling in the first half, nailing a trio of 3-pointers as Wayland mounted a comfortable advantage. Billups' bombs all came in a 3½-minute span, with the last one putting the Pioneers up 30-9 with 11½ minutes left before intermission.
Fondren also nailed three first-half 3s, although his were more spread out. Fondren scored all but two of his 15 points in the first half, while Billups netted all but five of his 16 before intermission.
The Pioneers, whose largest lead was 47 points, reached 99 on a bucket by
Joshua Cox with 2:48 left.
For the game, Wayland shot 60 percent (42-of-70) from the field, including 9-of-25 (36 percent) from long range. The Pioneers outrebounded DCC, 46-30, with Fondren's seven pacing the team. WBU ended with only 10 turnovers and had 26 assists, led by
Travis Payton with six and
Kevin Williams with five.
Garnett said the Pioneers took “good rhythm shots. The ball was moving, and that allowed our (shooting) percentage to be as good as it was.”
The win sends the Pioneers into their Sooner Athletic Conference opener on a high note. Wayland's next outing is 8 p.m. Tuesday at rival Lubbock Christian in the back end of a doubleheader with the Queens.
“Our focus shifts immediately to Tuesday,” Garnett said. “You play all these non-conference games to try to learn from the good and the bad in an effort to get ready for conference.”
The Chaparrals are 5-4 on the season, with a pair of wins over Our Lady of the Lake University and, most recently, an 83-76 victory over Eastern New Mexico.
“They've had some big wins,” Garnett said of LCU. “They're a good team and it will be a big test for us. We have to prepare the next three days and be focused on what we need to do.”
Pioneer Basketball vs Dallas Christian Gallery
