No. 11 Pioneers rally to top Central Christian

Box Score

McPHERSON, Kan. – Wayland Baptist rallied from a 13-point deficit to knock off Central Christian in Sooner Athletic Conference play here Saturday night, 78-70.
 
"This was a good win for us. Central Christian won at (No. 21) Oklahoma City on Tuesday, and they came out and shot the ball really well today," Wayland coach Ty Harrelson said. "Our guys played great defense in the second half to help us win the game."
 
The No. 11 Pioneers (14-4, 7-3) got 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks from Samuel Kalwanyi and 20 points and seven boards from Trevonta Robertson.
 
"Sammy played a fantastic game. He was really tough today," Harrelson said of Kalwanyi, who after being shut out scoring Thursday against Oklahoma City logged his third double-double in four games.
 
Tre Fillmore and J.J. Culver added eight points apiece and Tyrone Davis got seven.
 
Wayland shot 46 percent (23-of-50) from the field, with Kalwanyi going 9-for-11. Robertson hit 11-of-15 free throws, where the Pioneers went 28-of-38 (74 percent).
 
As the first half of conference play comes to an end, the win keeps Wayland tied atop the SAC standings with No. 15 USAO (16-3, 7-3), a 109-97 winner over Bacone on Saturday, and defending national champion Texas Wesleyan (13-6, 7-3), a 95-81 victor over Southwestern Christian.
 
Coming off Thursday's 79-70 loss at Oklahoma City, WBU fell behind early against SAC rookie Central Christian (9-8, 3-7), which tallied the first seven points of the game. The Pioneers found themselves down by 13, 26-13, before fighting back to within seven at the half, 37-30.
 
"They were 7-of-14 from 3 at halftime," Harrelson said.
 
But the Pioneers picked up their defense after intermission, especially, Harrelson said, freshman Tre Fillmore.
 
"Tre came in and really amped our defense. He took a charge and defended their 3-point shooters really well, and he made a couple of baskets. He really made a big difference. Tre hasn't played much the last couple of games, but when the team really needed him he stepped up."
 
Wayland went on a 9-0 run, with Kalwanyi getting six of the points, to take a 44-41 lead. Central Christian tied it with a 3-pointer, but Robertson nailed a 3 for the Pioneers and they never trailed again.
 
"Trevonta was really aggressive attacking the hoop. I thought he also was a standout for us today. He was good the whole day," Harrelson said.
 
WBU went up by as many as 13 points, 69-56 to match their first-half deficit, then preserved the win at the foul line down the stretch.
 
The Tigers got 18 points from Jubril Osagie, 14 from TJ Williams and 11 from Paul Ard II. Central ended with 15 more field goals (22-of-65 compared to 23-of-50) than Wayland but shot 12 percentage points below the Pioneers, 34% to 46%.
 
Wayland outrebounded CCC, 42-38.
 
The Pioneers are back in Hutcherson Center at 8 p.m. Thursday to take on Southwestern Christian (10-9, 4-6), which defeated Wayland in Bethany, Okla., on Dec. 16, 87-73. It's WBU's only game of the week due to St. Gregory's forfeiting after the university closed its doors earlier this season.
 
Harrelson said the Pioneers are "in a pretty good place" going into the second half of conference play.
 
"We'll try to keep working hard to finish the season like we want."