Box Score
Ruben Lopez fueled a late run that boosted Wayland Baptist to a 75-59 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Mid-America Christian on Thursday night in Hutcherson Center.
With the game tied at 45, Lopez nailed back-to-back 3-pointers, dropped in two free throws, then after a shake-and-bake move to the basket dished to
Russell Harrison for a 3, capping an 11-2 run that broke open a close game.
Wayland went on to lead by as many as 19 points and win by 16 in a game that neither team led by more than seven points for the first 34 minutes. The Pioneers, who after leading 27-24 at halftime trailed by two not quite midway through the second half, wound up outscoring the Evangels 48-35 in the second half to win going away.
"It started with great defense," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said of how the Pioneers (15-10, 7-6 SAC) got things rolling. "To hold that team to 24 points in a half takes a lot of focus and courage. The guys on the court tonight showed they're capable.
"I'm really proud of them."
Harrison wound up with 18 points,
Maurice Redmond 14 and Lopez 12. Redmond also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds while Lopez served up five assists.
"I think our upperclassmen did a great job of leading," Harrelson said. "Ruben had a great game, as did Mo, and Cody (Thomas) really gets our defense going with his communication, and he's playing tough.
Harrison had only five points in the first half when he was strapped with foul trouble. He came alive after intermission, as did Lopez who scored all of his 12 after the break.
"Russell can really open a game up. His ability to stretch the defense with his shooting ability and score at the hoop opens everything up and makes it a little bit easier on everyone else," Harrelson said.
"I also thought two other freshmen,
Austin Mansour and
J.J. Culver, made big plays at crunch time."
Culver ended with seven points and seven boards got eight and six.
The coach also complimented
Tyrone Davis and
Julian Pesava for their defensive efforts on MACU's first-team all-conference player Devonse Reed, who wound up with nine points and five turnovers.
"Sometimes it doesn't show up in the stats, but they really did a great job on him," Harrelson said. "A lot of credit goes to those guys.
"Everybody who played contributed. That's what we preach."
After shooting just 29 percent from the field (10-of-35) in the first half, Wayland heated up and fired at a 53 percent clip (16-of-30) in the second half.
"Eventually our offense got going there in the second half," Harrelson said.
Malcom Mann led the Evangels (14-11, 5-8) with 13 points while Trey Slate got 10.
The win avenged a tough 100-99 overtime loss to MACU, then ranked 10
th in the NAIA, on Jan. 12 in Oklahoma City.
"This puts us back in a similar situation where we were last year," Harrelson said.
The Pioneers, now tied for fifth place in the league standings with USAO, hope to avenge another loss when they host St. Gregory's at 3 p.m. Saturday. Wayland dropped a 69-62 decision to the Cavaliers on Jan. 26 in Shawnee, Okla. St. Greg's defeated last-place Bacone on Thursday at home, 78-62.
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