Box Score SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. – The Wayland Baptist Pioneers threw another scare into John Brown University, but this time the fourth-ranked Golden Eagles were able to avoid the upset here Thursday night in Sooner Athletic Conference action, winning 67-60.
After trailing by 13 points midway through the second half, the Pioneers (14-12, 5-8 SAC) got within three points, 61-58, with just under three minutes to play. But Wayland scored only two more points after that as John Brown (23-4, 12-1) clamped down on defense.
Juhreece Thompson scored for WBU to make it 63-60 with 1:15 left, but D'Shon Taylor got free for a dunk on the other end to take it back to a two-possession game. After the Pioneers failed to score, the Golden Eagles knocked down a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left for the final margin.
Thompson led the Pioneers with a game-high 25 points.
Tanner Hazelbaker added 11 while
Reggie Fondren had nine points and eight rebounds.
Taylor paced the Golden Eagles with 16 points. Kofi Josephs ended with 12 and Max Hopfgartner 11. Nate Anderson blocked seven shots for JBU, which had nine total rejections compared to none for Wayland.
The Golden Eagles' bench outscored Wayland, 33-0, as the five Pioneer starters accounted for all of the team's points.
Like in their Jan. 26 meeting in Plainview when Wayland won 84-70, the Pioneers got off to a fast start. Thompson scored Wayland's first seven points of the game before Hazelbaker added five in a row to help give their team a 15-6 lead.
Unlike the first meeting, however, the Pioneers weren't able to keep the Golden Eagles down. John Brown used a 21-3 run to go from a nine-point deficit to a nine-point lead. The Golden Eagles used a string of 3-pointers to do much of the damage as JBU nailed eight treys in the first half, which ended with Wayland trailing, 36-28.
John Brown ended the game by hitting 13-of-36 (36 percent) from 3-point range, compared to Wayland's 4-of-18. Seven different Golden Eagles recorded successful 3s.
Wayland next travels to Claremore, Okla., to take on Rogers State (18-8, 6-6) beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Hillcats, who faced Lubbock Christian University on Thursday night, defeated Wayland, 69-61, in the first half of SAC play when RSU was ranked No. 18. The Hillcats have since fallen out of the Top 25 but still are receiving votes.
The Pioneers play their final two regular-season games at home, against Lubbock Christian at 8 p.m. Tuesday then against USAO at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23.
