Box Score Wayland Baptist knocked down a school-record 22 3-pointers – including 15 in the first half – as the Pioneers rolled past No. 11 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) in Sooner Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon in Hutcherson Center, 118-96.
"Our guys executed our game plan," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said. "We're playing really good basketball right now."
Robert Waters and
Jordan Tolbert drilled six 3s apiece as seven Pioneers combined to break the record for most bombs in a game. The old mark of 21 had stood since the 2004-05 season during a game against Texas-Permian Basin when the Pioneers launched a school-record 48 attempts. On Saturday, Wayland (16-9, 8-6 SAC) needed just 35 tries to break the mark as the Pioneers shot 63 percent from beyond the arc, including 79 percent (15-of-19) in the first half when Wayland scored 73 points to lead by 19 points.
Harrelson attributed at least some of his team's red-hot shooting to excellent ball movement.
"When we move the ball well, we usually shoot well," he said. "That's what we tried to focus on."
The Pioneers also broke a record for most games in a season scoring at least 100 points. Saturday was the 11th of the season, topping the old mark set two years ago.
Waters ended with a game-high 25 points, followed by
Maurice Redmond with 23, Tolbert with 18 and
Marshall Nelson with 15. Tolbert finished 6-of-6 from 3-point range, all in the first half.
Somewhat lost in all of the 3-pointers was Wayland's free-throw shooting. The Pioneers hit 18-of-19 foul shots (95 percent).
"Give credit to the players for staying after practices and getting extra shots off. Those things pay off," Harrelson said.
Despite the frenzied pace, Wayland committed just 13 turnovers, and only five in the second half.
"We had 30 turnovers the first time we played them (a 95-85 MACU win). We were able to reduce that to 13 today," Harrelson noted.
Ten Pioneers combined for 23 assists.
"We were almost 2-to-1 assists-to-turnovers, which is pretty good," the coach said.
The game was tied at 20 when the Pioneers started raining 3-pointers.
Waters, Redmond and Tolbert all had 3s as part of a 20-4 Wayland run over a span of 4½ minutes that gave the Pioneers a 16-point lead. Shortly after that, that same trio each connected again from long range to build the Pioneers' lead to 20 points.
After the Evangels (20-6, 10-4) trimmed it to 12, Nelson connected on a pair of bombs that essentially put MACU away late in the first half.
Up 19 at the break, Wayland never let the Evangels closer than 16 in the second half, and the Pioneers led by as many as 31, 114-83 with 5½ minutes left.
"We want to play fast, but we want to play smart. That's the tempo we want to play at and MACU is similar," Harrelson said. "A lot of it does come down to how you shoot the ball. They shot it really well at their gym and we shot it well this afternoon."
The game was reminiscent of last year's SAC Tournament championship game when the Pioneers blew out the regular-season champion Evangels, 94-60.
MACU got a game-high 27 points from Nick Tate, 18 from Devonse Reed, 13 from Chris Runnels and 10 from Malcolm Mann. The Evangels shot a respectable 44 percent (32-of-73) from the field, but just 6-of-25 from long range. MACU dropped 26-of-32 free throws (81 percent).
The win was the fourth straight for Wayland, which on Thursday topped No. 23 Oklahoma City, 86-76, giving the Pioneers wins over the SAC's second- and third-place teams in a span of three days.
Harrelson credited several players for his team's recent resurgent, including Waters.
"I feel like Rob has really stepped up. He's letting the game come to him. It's natural for a senior to press a little bit. They want to win so bad and put a little bit of pressure on themselves. But Rob's playing really relaxed and smart basketball.
"I also thought AJ Jack and
Marquous Barnes made some great decisions today, stuff that doesn't always show up in the stat sheet."
After a perfect four-game homestand, the Pioneers now head back on the road for their final regular-season road trip against Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha, Okla., on Thursday night followed by St. Gregory's in Shawnee, Okla., on Saturday. USAO (12-9, 7-6), which hosted St. Greg's on Saturday afternoon, defeated Wayland earlier this season, 98-92, while the Pioneers beat the Cavaliers, 105-90.
"We lost to USAO here, so we need to go on the road and try to get a split," Harrelson said.
"As a coach it's hard to get past (some close losses), but winning four straight games in conference is good. We're trying to take everything one step at a time.
"We've kind of refocused, I believe."
