Box Score SHAWNEE, Okla. – Playing its third game in five days, the Wayland Baptist men's basketball team was in Shawnee, Okla., on Monday to take on No. 11 St. Gregory's University. Down seven with just 35 seconds remaining, the No. 24 Pioneers made a valiant comeback, but ultimately fell, 102-99.
After trailing for the majority of the Sooner Athletic Conference contest, St. Gregory's (14-3, 5-3) gained its first lead since the 16:19 mark in the first half when Jarron Vierra made a 3-pointer with 4:36 left in the second half. Vierra's 3 gave SGU an 85-83 lead.
The Cavaliers continued their late-game push, going up 97-90 with just 35 seconds left.
Markus Monroe, Wayland's leading scorer, made a jump shot to cut the lead before WBU (12-5, 3-4) was forced to foul the home team.
After SGU split a pair of free throws,
Juhreece Thompson made a quick bucket to bring the Pioneers even closer, 98-94, with 18 seconds left. The Cavaliers proceeded to make two more free throws before
Plamen Hristov nailed a clutch 3 to bring Wayland within a single score, 100-97, with eight seconds left.
St. Greg's Richard Shields made the first of two freebees, but missed the second. WBU's
Royal Crouch rebounded the miss and then
Barry Johnson was fouled on a 3-point attempt with four seconds left.
The senior from Lubbock made the first two free throws to cut the lead to two points before St. Greg's called a timeout. Johnson then missed his third foul shot and the Cavs grabbed the board, now with a two-point lead..
SGU's Marty Wilkerson made a free throw before Pioneer
Sasha Ovcharenko heaved a prayer with one second remaining. The attempt failed, giving St. Greg's the 102-99 victory.
The Cavaliers' 99 points is the most scored by a Wayland opponent since 2007 when Rogers State won a game over the Pioneers, 104-76. Also, it was the most combined points in a Wayland game since the Pioneers defeated St. Gregory's, 117-93, in 2003.
Monroe led the Pioneers with 28 points while Hristov went 5-for-9 from beyond the arc for 20, a season-high for the senior. Crouch also had a solid performance for Wayland, scoring 15 points while bringing in 10 rebounds to record a double-double.
The Pioneers will look to get back in the win column on Thursday when they host No. 2 Southwestern Assemblies of God at 8 p.m. in Hutcherson Center.
