Box Score SAN ANTONIO – The Wayland Baptist Pioneers have dropped only two games all season, and both have come at the hands of Our Lady of the Lake University. No. 2 happened here Thursday night as the No. 12 Pioneers fell to the Saints, 117-104.
"We played them really well. We took a lead in the second half, but we just couldn't put them away," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said.
Part of the reason for that was missed free throws as Wayland (9-2) was just 21-of-40 (53 percent) from the foul line.
"That was the difference in the game," said Harrelson, whose Pioneers dropped a 114-97 decision to OLLU, then ranked No. 25, in Plainview on Nov. 20. "We are a decent, at times even good, free-throw shooting team. We've not shot free throws well twice all season, and both times were against this team."
Another reason for Wayland's inability to put away the Saints, who were coming off a 99-97 road win over NCAA Division I Incarnate Word, was OLLU (4-3) hitting 10-of-11 3-pointers (91 percent) and 27-of-36 (75 percent) free throws.
"With six minutes left it was close, but down the stretch they made frees and we didn't," Harrelson said.
The coach also pointed to senior
Robert Waters having to leave the game with a cut on his team after being called for an offensive foul as a time when the Pioneers were on a run.
"That killed our momentum when Rob had to leave," Harrelson said.
WBU had no answer for 6-foot-6 junior forward Joe Jackson, who led the Saints with 29 points and 18 rebounds.
"Jackson is a really good player. He's long and athletic and gave us some problem the first time we played them. We had a game plan for it and he still managed to get statistics like that. He's a very good player."
Four other OLLU players scored in double-digits, including Darion Brown with 22 and Olajuwon Garner with 19. Seven different Saints made 3-pointers.
The Pioneers were paced by
Robert Waters,
Jordan Tolbert and
Jordon Johnson, who scored 24, 22, and 20 points, respectively. Waters hit 9-of-8 free throws, Tolbert tagged 9-of-12 foul shots, and Johnson was 9-of-11 from the field.
Overall, Wayland made 37-of-65 (57 percent) field goals, including 9-of-14 (64 percent) 3-pointers. Despite Waters' and Tolbert's success, the Pioneers as a team had one of their worst performances from the foul stripe.
"Jordon did a good job of going to the basket, but when he gets fouled we have to do a better job of stepping up and being confident at the free throw line," Harrelson said.
Wayland ended with just 26 rebounds and 15 turnovers, compared to OLLU's 38 boards and 17 giveaways.
"We just didn't make free throws," Harrelson said. "That's what it came down to."
The Saints have faced two other Sooner Athletic Conference teams, losing to both Oklahoma City, 92-79, and USAO, 108-96. Those losses were followed by two high-scoring wins over North American University, 134-62, and Paul Quinn, 136-87.
Wayland next plays McMurry at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Abilene where they join with the Flying Queens, who play the War Hawks at 5:30.
