Box Score GOLDEN, Colo. –
Louis Timms and
Maurice Redmond came up with blocks in the closing seconds as Wayland Baptist knocked off NCAA Division II's 13
th-ranked Colorado School of Mines here Friday evening, 78-76.
"I feel like this was one of our better wins this season, if not our best one," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said after the Pioneers' first game in the Colorado School of Mines Thanksgiving Classic.
Timms recorded another double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds and
Russell Harrison added 17 points to lead the Pioneers. Redmond also reached double-figure scoring with 15 points as did
Marshall Nelson with 13 points to go with five assists.
In winning its sixth straight, Wayland (7-1) jumped to an 8-2 lead and was up by as many as 14 in the first half against the previously-unbeaten Orediggers (4-1), who were ranked seventh preseason by The Sporting News and picked to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
"
J.J. Culver got us started really well with a steal and a couple of fast breaks, and Louis scored six of our first eight points," Harrelson said. "To be up by 14 on the road against a team that made the regional tournament last year and returned quite a few players including one of the best we've seen, I was really proud of our guys."
Down 37-31 at the half, Mines – which two weeks earlier defeated Lubbock Christian in Lubbock, 78-74 – took a 59-58 lead midway through the second half, but Wayland didn't let the lead last long. In fact, Harrison scored on the Pioneers' next possession and the Pioneers never trailed again, but it was close the rest of the way.
With the score knotted at 66, Wayland scored six straight points on a 3-pointer by
Maurice Redmond, a free throw by
Julian Pesava, and a dunk by Timms.
The Orediggers, playing their home-opener, wouldn't go away, though, and fought back to within 74-73 with 1½ minutes to go.
"They were able to get to the free-throw line and crawled back into it," Harrelson said.
Mines had a handful of chances to take the lead, but Wayland fought off every one.
In the final seconds and with Wayland clinging to a 77-76 lead, Timms missed the second of two free throws but made up for it on the other end with a block on a fast-break layup with 18 seconds left. Redmond grabbed the rebound and was fouled, and he also made the first of two free throws before missing the second.
With 10 seconds showing, the Orediggers raced up the floor and managed to get off a layup by Zach Rusk, but Redmond knocked it away as it neared the rim.
"Mo made a great play," Harrelson said. "He was trailing the play and really hustled to get back in it. He blocked it out toward the top of the key and that was pretty much the end of it.
Timms secured his seventh double-double in eight outings. The NAIA leader in blocked shots got three, one shy of his average, as he went 8-of-11 from the field in 37 minutes. Harrison was 7-of-11.
Wayland outrebounded the Orediggers, 37-29, and had 17 turnovers, eight more than their opponent.
"I felt like our guys competed all day," Harrelson said. "Mines is a very good basketball team, so to come out with a win on the road is nice."
The Pioneers finished 52 percent (31-of-53) from the field, including 6-of-17 (35 percent) from the 3-point line. WBU hit 10-of-15 free throws (67 percent).
Mines, which got 21 points from Gokul Natesan and 14 each from Luke Schroepfer and Ben Clare, shot 40 percent (24-of-61) from the field, 33 percent (6-of-18) from long range, and 79 percent (22-of-28) from the foul stripe, including 15-of-19 in the first half.
"That was kind of frustrating," Harrelson said of the Orediggers' first-half free throws. "We did a better job in the second half not putting them on the line.
"I was proud to come away with a victory. My assistants (
Landon Hughey,
Josh Weir and
Robert Lopez) all did a real good job scouting. I appreciate their efforts."
Wayland, which was coming off an 81-72 win over NAIA's 14
th-ranked Our Lady of the Lake on Tuesday in Plainview, next faces NCAA DII's No. 24 Fort Lewis (Colo.) at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Skyhawks (4-1) defeated Dine College on Friday in Golden, 117-33, and recently defeated Northern New Mexico College, 107-63. Wayland has beaten NNMC twice this season, 117-70 and 110-82.
Fort Lewis will be Wayland's fourth Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponent in eight days.
"We're playing for the conference championship Saturday," Harrelson joked.
