Box Score CHICKASHA, Okla. – Wayland Baptist fell behind early and could never catch up – although it nearly came all the way back from a 23-point hole – as the Pioneers dropped a 103-92 decision to Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Sooner Athletic Conference play here Saturday afternoon.
"After such a slow start, I'm proud we gave ourselves a chance," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said. "It really came down to a couple of plays at the end."
Wayland (13-9, 5-5) never led in the game that marked the end of the first half of conference play.
The Drovers (10-11, 5-5) were up 12-10 then scored eight straight to take their first double-digit lead of the day.
"We had too many turnovers at the start of the game. They had 17 points off turnovers in the first half," Harrelson said. "That and USAO shot 69 percent in the first half. Six of their misses were 3-pointers, so they were 17-of-21 from the two. You just don't see that too often. They were hitting some shots and getting some fast-break lay-ups.
USAO went up by as many as 23 points, 83-60 with 13:21 to play. Two minutes later it was still an 18-point game, 92-74, when the Pioneers began their frantic rally.
Wayland scored 16 unanswered points, including a pair of 3-pointers by Joshua Throns, to pull to within 92-90 with 2:44 to go.
"I was proud of our guys for fighting their way back into it," Harrelson said. "J.J., Josh, Marshall, Russell and Austin – three freshman, a sophomore, and a junior – really buckled down when we needed them to and gave us an opportunity to win the game."
A lay-up by
J.J. Culver pulled the Pioneers to within a bucket, then Wayland had a chance to tie or take the lead. Wayland missed a 3-pointer on a fast-break opportunity then gave it away on a moving screen foul.
Meanwhile, USAO's near seven-minute scoring drought finally ended as the Drovers scored on back-to-back possessions. Wayland's magic seemed to have dried up as the Pioneers missed a 3 and a lay-up while USAO hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to hold off WBU.
"It was a constant battle the second half," Harrelson said.
Throns ended with a team-high 21 points while
Russell Harrison added 19,
Ruben Lopez 14, and
Maurice Redmond and
Marshall Nelson 11 each. Harrison also had eight rebounds.
Cody Thomas dished out five assists.
Leading six USAO players in double figures was Brendan Chapman with 22 points.
Wayland shot 58 percent (19-of-33) from the field in the second half and 50 percent for the game, including 15-of-33 (46 percent) 3-pointers. The Pioneers were outscored at the free throw line by 14 points as USAO hit 23-of-27 (85 percent) and Wayland 9-of-12 (75 percent).
"I feel like we took the ball strong to the basket, we just didn't get to the line as much as they did," Harrelson said.
It was the third straight loss for the Pioneers, who after playing four straight ranked opponents were hoping for a break this week against St. Gregory's and USAO. It didn't happen.
"The way our league is right now there's a lot of teams who are even or within one or two games," Harrerlson said. "Everything is one possession at a time. You can't look ahead. We have to get better at what we do and make the most of every possession on both sides of the ball."
Wayland will try to regroup before next taking on Bacone (4-13, 1-8) on Thursday night in Muskogee, Okla., prior to a trip to Siloam Springs, Ark., to face John Brown (12-8, 4-5).
Harrelson said the Pioneers hit a similar slump last year before pulling it together, so he knows the team just has to stay strong.
"We hit that mid-conference drought, so we need to buckle down and figure out who we are going into the final stretch of the season. I believe we will do that. We have some high-character kids who are very talented at basketball.
"We've had a few unlucky breaks with personnel that affected us a little bit, but everybody is here to play and win games. We're going to come out fighting. We fought today, we just didn't come out on top."
