Box Score
FORT WORTH – After reaching the top-25 for the first time in five years, the Wayland Baptist men's basketball team traveled to Fort Worth to take on Texas Wesleyan University for a road match in the perpetually tough Sooner Athletic Conference. After falling behind in the second half, the Pioneers were not able to regain the lead, losing to the Rams, 75-71, Thursday night.
Texas Wesleyan (10-6, 4-3) has had some big wins, as well as some close losses, in its first season in the SAC. In addition to the Rams' win over the 24
th-ranked Pioneers, Texas Wesleyan defeated John Brown (ranked 7
th at the time), 99-91, on Jan. 7. The Rams had upset bids against No. 11 St. Gregory's and No. 2 Southwestern Assemblies of God before eventually surrendering, 97-93 and 86-80, respectively.
Wayland (12-3, 3-2) led by as many as eight points in the first half, but went into the half up only a point, 37-36. The two teams battled in the second half, changing leads 11 times, before Texas Wesleyan took the lead for good with 11:38 left in the game.
With 4:30 minutes left,
Juhreece Thompson brought the Pioneers within striking distance after making a layup to cut the Rams' lead to 71-69. Texas Wesleyan turned the ball over, giving WBU a chance to tie the game, but
Markus Monroe missed the layup, giving possession back to the Rams.
A minute later, Deonte Jones made a jumper to give TWU some cushion, but
Bunja Yaboe followed a missed shot by the Pioneers to give Wayland life, bringing the game within two points again, this time with just 40 seconds left.
The Pioneers made a big defensive stop on the opposite end of the court, once again holding the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead with 20 seconds remaining.
Sasha Ovcharenko missed a jumper before Thompson's tip-in failed. The Rams rebounded the missed tip-in, forcing
WBU to foul. Vernell Blackman made both free throws to ice the game, as Texas Wesleyan took the game, 75-71.
"Markus had the ball and drew a lot of attention in the paint so he kicked it to Sasha, who had a good look," head coach
Matt Garnett described. "Sasha is going to hit that shot the majority of the time, it just didn't go tonight.
"Juhreece went for the tip in, and there was a lot of contact down there, and again we just weren't able to get it to go. The guys really executed in the last two minutes to give us a chance."
Despite the loss, Garnett was very proud of his squad's effort Thursday night.
"I'm very, very proud of our ten guys in the second half," Garnett said. "They really pulled together and fought through a lot of adversity. When things get tough you love to be in the huddle with them because they care so deeply."
Monroe had another stellar offensive performance Thursday, leading all scorers with 33 points.
Plamen Hristov was the only other Pioneer in double figures, bringing in 10 points.
Travis Payton led the team in rebounds with nine, while Monroe hauled in seven boards.
Jorge Redmond led the Rams in scoring with 24 points, followed by Deonte and Dallas Jones who had 13 and 10 points each.
The Pioneers will travel to Chickasha, Okla. to take on Science and Arts of Oklahoma at 3 p.m. on Saturday. USAO (5-8, 2-4) fell to Texas Wesleyan, 80-71, on Monday.
Garnett is confident that his squad will do what's necessary to prepare for Saturday's game against a tough Drover team.
"I have a real belief in these guys. I've watched these guys pull together in some very difficult times, so I know the way they'll respond. They respond very well to adversity and they're going to play very well, so we're excited."
