Box Score
CHICKASHA, Okla. – The Wayland Baptist men's basketball team has put together some impressive come-from-behind victories lately, but the Pioneers couldn't bounce back from a deficit of as many as 19 points here Thursday night against the University of Arts and Sciences of Oklahoma. Wayland made a run for it in the second half, but fell, 78-72, to the No. 23 Drovers, giving the Pioneers an even 3-3 record in Sooner Athletic Conference play and dropping them to 12-7 overall.
Eric Milam carried the team on his shoulders in the first half, scoring 13, or half of the team's points, while
Tanner Hazelbaker had six. The Pioneers were cold from the floor, going scoreless from the 17:35 mark to the 14:21 mark and then again for four minutes later in the half. Wayland was down by 19 after the second dry spell, but was able to close the gap to 11 by halftime on a free throw and three buckets from Milam and three free throws from
Reggie Fondren. Despite Wayland's late flurry of offense, USAO (9-4, 2-3 SAC) still headed to the locker room with the 37-26 edge.
Head coach
Matt Garnett said Milam kept his team in the game when they struggled to get things started.
“I thought Eric was the most emotionally engaged in the first half,” he said. “He got in there and was scoring points, but more importantly, he was emotionally into it. He gave us a spark to end the first half so we weren't completely out of the game already.
“We didn't shoot the ball well in the first half and we know if we don't make our shots, it puts us behind the eight ball. We just couldn't seem to execute our game plan and let them get away from us early on.”
Wayland has proven time and again it's not a team to ever be counted out, as it exhibited again in the second half, pulling to within one point midway through the period. Milam continued to be consistent, while Hazelbaker and playmaker
Travis Payton also came to life. Buckets from Milam, Hazelbaker, Payton and
Theo Hatcher sent the Pioneers on a 9-0 run to start the second half and the team pulled within two.
The teams went back and forth until Wayland tied it up around the 12:50 mark on free throws from Payton. The Pioneers even took a one-point lead before allowing USAO to go on a 12-point run to put 11 points between the teams. Wayland wouldn't go away and pulled with four on a long bomb from Hazelbaker with 5 1/2 minutes remaining. The Drovers, however, kept pushing the pace, hitting their shots and were nearly flawless from the charity stripe, ultimately giving them the 78-72 victory.
“USAO played really well, but our guys showed some resolve to get back in it to give us a chance in the second half,” Garnett said. “We just weren't able to make enough plays down the stretch. I'm proud of the guys' heart and effort. We can't dwell on this loss because we've got to find a way to get better tomorrow.”
Milam finished with an impressive season-high 21 points and was 10-of-17 from the floor. After scoring only one point in the first half, Payton heated up to score 18 in the second, for his19, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 6-of-9 from the charity stripe. Hazelbaker was 7-of-14, including three 3-pointers for 17 points.
The Pioneers shot 42 percent from the floor, 41 percent from long range and 53 percent from the charity stripe. Wayland only turned the ball over four times and came away with 12 steals.
The Drovers had five players in double digits, with Norris Rumph leading the team with 17. USAO shot 49 percent from the floor and 47 percent from long range, but managed a staggering 18-of-20 (90 percent) from the free throw line. The Drovers turned the ball over just five times and reeled in 10 steals. Both teams came away with 35 rebounds.
The Pioneers will take on No. 20 Rogers State at 8 p.m. next Thursday after having a week away from competition. The Hillcats topped formerly ranked Oklahoma City University, 79-71, on Thursday.
“We'll do the same thing after we win…we'll identify the things we can get better at,” Garnett said. “In our conference there's so little margin for error, so we have to figure out what went wrong. We'll evaluate the things we can control and find a way to be better prepared.
“It starts with me. I've got to do a better job preparing the guys. We know we have to be self-critical after both our wins and losses, but win or lose, we put it into our standings and move on to the next game.”
