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Men's Basketball

21st-ranked Pioneers wrap up three-game home-stand with another victory over Aggies

Box Score
Wayland Baptist scored the first 12 points of the game and never looked back as the 21st-ranked, Sooner Athletic Conference-leading Pioneers rolled to a 94-74 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Monday night in Hutcherson Center.
 
It was the third home win in five days for the Pioneers, who last week defeated No. 20 Science and Arts of Oklahoma and No. 12 Mid-America Christian by a combined 42 points. WBU improved to 8-0 at the Hutch this season and 32-4 in three seasons under coach Ty Harrelson.
 
"We've played really well at home. We definitely have home-court advantage with our fans and our student section," Harrelson said. "I think it's really fun to play in the Hutcherson Center right now."
 
J.J. Culver scored 18 points and Kraig Shields 17 to lead the Pioneers (13-3, 6-2 SAC), who held the NAIA's fourth-leading scorer, Jace Kerr, to just six points. Wayland's Josh Throns came off the bench and added 14 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists, and Samuel Kalwanyi recorded his second straight double-double in just his fifth outing with 12 points and 13 boards.
 
"Sammy played fantastic again, and Josh had another great game," Harrelson said.
 
Ruben Lopez contributed nine points and a game-high five assists.
 
Fifteen Pioneers played, and 13 scored.
 
After Wayland's fast start fueled by two 3s by Culver made for a 12-point lead, the Aggies (9-6, 3-5) cut it to two on a couple of occasions in the first half. Wayland was able to re-open a substantial lead, going up by 13, 49-36, early in the second half.
 
The Aggies scored the next eight points to trim the deficit to five, 49-44, but Wayland fended off that final OPSU charge, gradually building its lead to 26 points, 77-51, on a fast-break 3-pointer by Trevonta Robertson with 9:40 to go.
 
"J.J. and Ruben got us going with some hot shooting. Then we come out in the second half and Josh kind of does the same thing," Harrelson said.
 
OPSU coach Jerry Olson pretty well threw in the towel at that point, clearing his bench for the remainder of the game.
 
The Aggies were led in scoring by Tucker Powell, who got his 13 points off the bench. Jaedon Whitfield chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Kerr, OPSU's 6-6 junior forward who entered the game averaging almost 24 points to rank fourth in the NAIA, was limited to six on 2-of-8 shooting in 18 minutes.
 
"I thought we played great defense, especially being able to slow down Jace Kerr," Harrelson said. "Marco (Zelic) started out on him and did a really good job. He forced him into some really tough shots. From there we went to a rotation of guys on him, mainly Kraig and Tyrone (Davis). All three of them played a great defensive game.
 
"Tyrone does so much for us that doesn't always show up in the stat sheet. He makes good decisions on offense and communicates on defense. He usually guards one of the better players. He's having a great senior season."
 
Led by Shields' 7-of-8 performance, Wayland hit 47 percent (35-of-74) from the field and went 11-of-30 (37 percent) from 3-point range, where Culver was 4-for-8 and Throns 3-for-10.
 
The Pioneers committed 13 turnovers, two fewer than OPSU, which shot 36 percent (22-of-62), including 11-of-34 (32 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
"They have some great shooters, and they take a lot of shots. I thought we did a good job of contesting those for the most part," Harrelson said.
 
The Pioneers are on the road for their next two contests, first against 14th-ranked Oklahoma City (11-4, 4-3) at 8 p.m. Thursday then SAC newcomer Central Christian (8-6, 2-5) on Saturday afternoon in McPherson, Kan. Those two teams square off Tuesday at OCU.
 
"We'll try to go get a couple of wins on the road and look forward to coming back (to the Hutch)," Harrelson said.
 
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Players Mentioned

J.J. Culver

#10 J.J. Culver

G
6' 4"
Sophomore
Josh Throns

#4 Josh Throns

G
6' 5"
Junior
Ruben Lopez

#2 Ruben Lopez

G
5' 6"
Senior
Samuel Kalwanyi

#40 Samuel Kalwanyi

F/C
6' 7"
Senior
Trevonta Robertson

#23 Trevonta Robertson

G
6' 2"
Junior
Kraig Shields

#14 Kraig Shields

C
6' 8"
Junior

Players Mentioned

J.J. Culver

#10 J.J. Culver

6' 4"
Sophomore
G
Josh Throns

#4 Josh Throns

6' 5"
Junior
G
Ruben Lopez

#2 Ruben Lopez

5' 6"
Senior
G
Samuel Kalwanyi

#40 Samuel Kalwanyi

6' 7"
Senior
F/C
Trevonta Robertson

#23 Trevonta Robertson

6' 2"
Junior
G
Kraig Shields

#14 Kraig Shields

6' 8"
Junior
C

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