Box Score Bunja Yaboe recorded his first double-double of the season and led six Pioneers in double-figure scoring as No. 11 Wayland Baptist trounced Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Sooner Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon in Hutcherson Center, 83-68.
In bouncing back from an 83-64 road loss to Mid-America Christian on Thursday, Wayland (15-2, 4-2 SAC) jumped ahead of the Drovers (3-10, 2-4) early and never looked back. The Pioneers went up 12-3 and led by as many as 17, 26-9, on a dunk by Yaboe midway through the first half. Wayland went into the break up 43-32.
"I thought that through the first 15 minutes of the game we were really dialed in on our defensive game plan," head coach
Matt Garnett said. "We played with great effort, good execution and we were rebounding. That's something that you have to do in this conference."
The Drovers twice closed to within seven early in the second half, the last time at 47-40. But Wayland outscored USAO 14-3 over the next five minutes to extend its lead back out to 18 points, 61-43, with 10½ minutes left.
The score never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Despite playing much of the game in foul trouble and eventually fouling out, Yaboe ended with a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds. It was the third double-double of his career.
"I was really proud of Bunja's response," Garnett said. "He was disappointed after the game on Thursday, and he had the mindset (between Thursday and today's game) that he was going to play better. His effort and his energy level were very good tonight."
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Kendall Durant added 13 points off the bench.
Royal Crouch put in a dozen while
Plamen Hristov,
Ta'Quan McDew and
Jacob Lancaster put in 10 each.
Robert Waters finished with nine points to just miss giving Wayland a seventh player in double figures, and he had nine assists to just miss his third double-double. Also, Lancaster pulled down nine rebounds and barely missed his first career double-double.
"That's the kind of team we have to be," Garnett said about his well-balanced squad. "Any time we have a good assist night we usually play well. I think the only times we've struggled this year is when we weren't sharing the ball. We need to make sure we honor that offensive mentality every night."
The Pioneers' win on Saturday came after an 83-64 upset loss to Mid-America Christian, and on top of that, WBU had to turn around and drive back that night to prepare for USAO. Wayland shot 46 percent (33-of-72) from the field, compared to just 39 percent on Thursday, and passed out 18 assists compared to only 10 in the loss to MACU. Wayland dominated the boards, 55-38, Saturday after the Evangels had a ten-rebound advantage Thursday.
"I was very proud of our response after not playing as well as we would have liked (on Thursday), driving through the night and having to prepare for a dangerous USAO team," Garnett said. "We rebounded well and shared the ball tonight. Those are the two things we really focused on coming in.
"When you go through a setback like we did, it clears your thinking to the idea that it's just about focusing on every single day and preparing very well because there's so many big games that you can't get caught up in any results or triumphs. You have to really focus as a team on getting better."
The Pioneers stay home for their next two games, at 8 p.m. Thursday against St. Gregory's and 3 p.m. Jan. 24 against John Brown.
"Moving forward, there's hardly any difference in any team in the conference," Garnett said. "The teams that get better more often will be the ones that are on top when the season ends. It's not an easy challenge, but it's one that this group is trying to accomplish."
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