Box Score Box ScoreCHICKASHA, Okla. –
Royal Crouch and
Bunja Yaboe turned in double-doubles, and the No. 9 Wayland Baptist Pioneers snapped a two-game skid by defeating University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Sooner Athletic Conference play here Saturday afternoon, 76-68.
"I am proud of them. They came out and put together a tough effort on the road," Wayland coach
Matt Garnett said. "We talked all day (Friday) and today about trusting the process, and the guys did exactly what I expected them to do."
Crouch finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds – including five offensive – while Yaboe had 15 points and 10 boards for the Pioneers (17-4, 6-4 SAC). It was the first double-double of the season for Crouch and the second for Yaboe.
Robert Waters added 10 points for Wayland.
"Bunja made his presence known on both ends of the floor, and Royal made a concerted effort to be more active. I couldn't be more proud of how hard he played," Garnett said.
The Pioneers, who led at halftime 31-26 after trailing by as many as six, opened a 13-point, 57-44 lead midway through the second period. But the Drovers (4-13, 3-7) mounted a comeback, scoring nine straight points over the next 2½ minutes to make it a four-point game, 57-53.
"USAO is a good, physical team," Garnett said.
The Drovers pulled to as close as three, 62-59 with 3½ minutes showing, but Yaboe and Crouch scored back-to-back buckets to give the Pioneers a bit of breathing room.
From there it became a free-throw contest for Wayland, which proved up to the task. The Pioneers nailed all eight of their foul shots down the stretch, with Waters leading the way by going 6-for-6. USAO, meanwhile, was unable to hit on a pair of 3-pointers that prevented the Drovers from gaining ground.
"I thought our guys really valued every possession down the stretch, offensively and defensively," Garnett said. "We were able to force a couple of misses and make a few free throws, and that was the formula to put it away at the end.
"Our guys rose to the challenge and made big plays."
For the game, the Pioneers made 12-of-14 (86 percent) from the free-throw line, where the Drovers were just 7-of-15 (47 percent). Wayland shot well from the field (31-of-65, 48 percent), despite being cold from 3-point range (2-of-13, 15 percent). USAO also struggled from long range (3-of-15, 20 percent).
Daven Ottley, a 6-foot-7 senior forward playing his first game of the season for USAO after recently becoming eligible, led the Drovers with 22 points, going 10-of-22 from the field but making just 2-of-9 free throws. Ottley also had 10 rebounds.
Garnett credited his entire roster for holding the Drovers in check.
"You can go through the lineup…Plamen (Hristov), Ta'Quan (McDew), Maurice (Redmond)…time and time again, it may not have always been a pretty play, but we made a tough play in the paint. We were able to get one on the road because of that."
The Pioneers, who defeated USAO 83-68 on Jan. 17 in Plainview, dominated the boards, pulling down 45 rebounds compared to 31 for USAO.
"I thought we showed a lot of toughness today," Garnett said.
Wayland, coming off tough losses to St. Gregory's and No. 20 Oklahoma Baptist, continues its four-game road swing next week with games at Texas Wesleyan (14-6, 3-6) and Southwestern Assemblies of God (15-6, 5-4). Both of those teams were ranked when Wayland easily beat them at home during the first half of conference play, topping Wesleyan, 105-68, and SAGU, 95-72.
Garnett expects a much tougher challenge from the Rams and Lions this time around.
"These last three games have identified some things that we need to get better at. As a group I think our guys will be very focused on those things because we know how good SAGU and Texas Wesleyan are. We know we're going to have to be better than we were today.
"This team cares deeply, they prepare well, and they play hard, and when you do those three things you're going to give yourself a chance every night."
