Box Score MUSKOGEE, Okla. –
Robert Waters hit eight 3-pointers and scored 29 points and
Maurice Redmond contributed a double-double to lead No. 12 Wayland Baptist to a lopsided 114-69 win over Bacone in Sooner Athletic Conference play here Saturday afternoon.
Coach
Ty Harrelson, whose Pioneers defeated John Brown in Arkansas on Thursday, couldn't be happier with how conference play has started for his team.
"It's exciting to get those first two conference wins, both on the road," he said. "John Brown is always really tough at their place, and it's good to come in here and get a win as well."
Bacone, in its first year in the SAC, scored the first four points of the game before Wayland (8-1, 2-0 SAC) answered with 10 straight points. It was the first of several big runs for the Pioneers in a win that was never really in doubt after the first five minutes.
Wayland put in nine straight points near the end of the first half, which expanded a 41-30 lead to 20 points, 50-30. The Warriors trailed at the half, 50-33.
The Pioneers' lead was 19 when Wayland put it away for sure by going on a 30-4 run, making it 90-45. That 45-point margin matched the final score difference as Wayland's largest lead of the game.
"The guys really moved the basketball well right out of the half," Harrelson said. "Rob and Mo (Redmond) were really strong during that 30-4 run."
Waters posted his 29 points in just 23 minutes. Of his nine field goals, all but one was a 3-pointer as the senior went 9-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Redmond finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. It was his fourth double-double of the season and first since the first three games of the season.
Anietie Jack added a season-high 17 points,
Jordan Tolbert 12 and
Marquous Barnes nine for Wayland, which shot 44 percent (42-of-85) from the field, including 13-of-37 (35 percent) from three-point range. The Pioneers hit 77 percent (17-of-22) of their free throws.
"AJ came off the bench and scored 17 points in 13 minutes. He was a big spark for us," Harrelson said of Jack. "And our freshman,
Jordan Tolbert, played a good all-around game: 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals."
The 114 points were three fewer than Wayland posted in a 117-67 win over Southwest Adventist in the second game of the season.
"I thought we played our type of game. We controlled the tempo," Harrelson said, pointing out his team's strong second-half performances the last two outings. "We scored 55 (in the second half) at John Brown and 64 today. We're playing the type of ball we want and finishing strong."
Wayland dominated the boards, outrebounding the Warriors, 50-33. The Pioneers turned it over 27 times compared to 35 for Bacone (1-7, 0-2), which was coming off a 62-44 loss to No. 24 Southwestern Assemblies of God on Thursday.
WBU continues its seven-game road swing Dec. 12 in Canyon against West Texas A&M as the Pioneers play five straight non-conference contests. Wayland's next home game and next SAC action is Jan. 7 against St. Gregory's.
"The guys are headed into finals, so they'll get a little bit of a rest in terms of basketball," Harrelson said. "We'll start preparing for WT when we get home."
