Box Score BETHANY, Okla. – Thanks in part to huge defensive efforts from
Maurice Redmond and
Ruben Lopez, the Wayland Baptist Pioneers opened Sooner Athletic Conference play Thursday night with a hard-earned 88-84 win over Southwestern Christian.
"It was a really key play," WBU coach
Ty Harrelson said of Redmond's strip and Lopez's recovery on SCU's final possession of the game that sealed the Pioneers' victory.
The Pioneers (7-2), in their first outing since a six-game winning streak ended Saturday, came out refreshed and looked to give the Eagles (4-3) a long night.
Early in the first half, Wayland launched an attack that led to a 19-5 advantage. The Pioneers maintained their tempo until the Eagles came roaring back.
"Louis (Timms) was in foul trouble and they were able to capitalize on that," Harrelson said. "We had a big lead and blew it."
A buzzer-beater from Kiril Kibisov capped the Eagles' comeback from a 33-19 deficit and tied the game at 38 going into halftime.
WBU opened the second half on a 9-2 run that turned into a 10-point lead, 61-51. But just as it did in the first half, SCU came storming back and went ahead momentarily, 79-76, on a 3-pointer from Marvin White.
Wayland took back control with baskets by Redmond and
Russell Harrison. Redmond finished with 15 points and six steals while Harrison ended with eight points.
"He (Redmond) came in played some big minutes," Harrelson said. "He played 30 minutes and didn't have one turnover."
With the teams battling back and forth and the Eagles with the ball, down 86-84, Redmond knocked the ball free and Lopez came up with a steal for the Pioneers with 10 seconds on the clock. Lopez then knocked down two free throws to essentially ice the game.
"We kept our composure and executed down the stretch," Harrelson said.
Though this wasn't WBU's best performance of the season, the Pioneers managed to make SCU's mistakes count by recording 13 steals and 29 points off those turnovers.
Wayland was led in scoring by senior
Marshall Nelson, who had a game-high 24 points including 4-of-7 from the great beyond. Freshman guard
J.J. Culver notched 11 points while Josh Throns and Timms each scored nine.
"Nelson was outstanding all night long," Harrelson said.
The Pioneers next face undefeated and 18th-ranked Oklahoma City (7-0) at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Stars defeated John Brown (7-5), 84-76, on Thursday in Arkansas to keep their streak alive.
"They're a very good basketball team," Harrelson said. "We'll just prepare for them the best we can and play Wayland basketball."
