Box Score SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. – Looking for their first win against John Brown on the road since 2008, the No. 15 Wayland Baptist men's basketball team took control of the game early and stayed on the Golden Eagles throughout the night, determined to end its seven-year drought. John Brown owned leads on four different occasions, but the Pioneers hung tough to take Thursday's Sooner Athletic Conference contest, 82-71.
"This is such a tough place to come and get a win," head coach
Matt Garnett said. "John Brown made really big plays, but our guys stayed the course and made enough plays down the stretch to get a big win on the road."
Wayland (22-4, 11-4) jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, but John Brown, a solid home team (11-4), kept chipping away at the Pioneers' lead. The Golden Eagles (15-12, 7-8) strung together seven unanswered points and took a 9-8 lead five minutes into the game.
Kendall Durant put WBU back in control on the Pioneers next possession, but Max Hopfgartner, the game's leading scorer, hit a three to swing the lead back in JBU's favor, 13-12.The lanky, 6-foot-9 forward hit another three on the Golden Eagle's next possession to give JBU a four-point lead.
The Pioneers tied the game twice, once at 8:42 and another at 7:36, before finally taking the lead for good in the first half. With six minutes left in the opening stanza,
Robert Waters hit a three pointer to give WBU a 27-25 lead.
Wayland led by as much as five points at four different points in the half, but JBU closed out the half with back-to-back defensive stops and converted twice on the offensive end to go into the break down one point, 36-35.
The second half started eerily similar to the first, with Wayland scoring seven of the first nine points in the half. John Brown never went away, though, and with 11:47 left in the
game, Matthew Ledford made a three to give the Golden Eagles a two-point lead, their first in over 16 minutes of play.
Jordon Johnson tied the game, 52-52, on the next play, but JBU hit another three to jump back ahead.
Jacob Lancaster regained the lead for Wayland with 7:40 left, and after John Brown went ahead a minute and a half later,
Ta'Quan McDew made a three pointer to put WBU up two, 62-60.
John Brown took the its final lead of the night with four and a half minutes left in the game, but
Royal Crouch put WBU up one and Waters and McDew made back-to-back threes to go up, 72-65, with three minutes remaining.
The Golden Eagles made their final stand a minute later, bringing themselves within three, but with 1:18 on the clock Durant made a huge play for the Pioneers that took the wind out from under the Eagles' wings.
"After we went up seven, (JBU) started to come back on us again, but Kendall made a great play with about a minute left," Garnett described. "They got within three, and on what turned out to be a broken play for us, Kendall made a good play to get to the rim and he finished strong to make a layup to put us back up five and give us some breathing room."
After Durant's layup, the Wayland defense stifled John Brown's offense, which shot 40-percent from the floor, and the Pioneers converted eight of their nine free throws down the stretch to take home a hard-earned, 82-71 win.
"We were just tough enough," Garnett said. "I thought we had control of the game then they made a run and took a four point lead with nine minutes left. I called a timeout and in the huddle we talked about making defensive stops.
"It wasn't pretty tonight, and we didn't have great rhythm, but Ta'Quan made a couple tough shots down the stretch and Kendall made a huge play late to help us get a win.
There were no style points tonight, but we made tough plays down the stretch and that's what it takes this time of year."
Wayland's last win in Siloam Springs was on Jan. 5, 2008 when the Pioneers defeated JBU, 71-58. Garnett attributes the Pioneers' success on Thursday to their trust in each other and what they are doing.
"This team has continued to grow and improve," he said. "Our improvement might not have been on display tonight, but because they trusted in what we're doing as a team and we trusted each other, we were able to do something we haven't done in seven years."
McDew shot 50-percent from the field and from three to give WBU 16 points, while Durant added 10 points a team-high five assists. Waters led four Pioneers in double figures with 19 points, and
Bunja Yaboe put in another solid performance with 12 points and 12 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the year.
Hopfgartner led JBU with 25 points and 12 boards, while Zach English and Ledford had 12 points each for the Golden Eagles. Samson Olayemi led all players with seven assists.
Next up for the Pioneers is a dangerous St. Gregory's team. The Cavaliers (12-11, 8-7) dismantled Wayland on Jan. 26, handing the Pioneers their only home loss of the year with a convincing, 88-67 win. In that game, SGU connected on 12 three pointers and held Wayland to a miniscule 32.9 shooting percentage.
"We have to find a way to get prepared for a very good St. Greg's team that got the best of us at home," Garnett said. "They have a great coach and a great point guard so it'll be a challenge, but if we prepare well then we'll have a chance to play well."
The Pioneers and Cavaliers square off at 3 p.m. Saturday in Shawnee, Okla. at the W.P. Wood Field House.
