Game-Winning Play
McPHERSON, Kan. – More than a quarter-of-a-century after Duke teammates Grant Hill and Christian Laettner teamed up for their famous play to beat Kentucky,
Jack Nobles and
Trevonta Robertson did it for the Wayland Baptist Pioneers here Thursday night.
Robertson scored seven points in the final nine seconds, the last four when he was fouled while hitting a game-tying 3-pointer before making the game-winning free throw with 1.7 seconds left, as the Pioneers pulled out an improbable 88-87 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Central Christian College.
"It was pretty exciting," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said. "It feels pretty good, to be honest."
Things didn't look good for Wayland (8-2, 2-0 SAC) trailing by seven, 84-77, with 49 seconds left.
Josh Throns, who led all scorers with 27 points, hit a couple of free throws to get the late rally going. After both teams turned it over, the Tigers (6-4, 0-3) got one point back but not the second due to a violation on the second free throw.
Chris Doerue, who a few seconds earlier drew an offensive foul, made a driving layup for Wayland to make it 85-81 with 17 seconds left. The Pioneers' first huge break came when Central Christian, under pressure from Doerue and others, turned it over in the backcourt, leading to Robertson nailing a 3-pointer from five feet beyond the 3-point arch with nine seconds left and pulling Wayland to within one, 85-84.
The Pioneers put TJ Williams at the free-throw line where with six ticks showing he made both foul shots. Out of timeouts, Harrelson inserted post Nobles into the game.
What happened next reminded Harrelson of the famous shot by Duke's Laettner after a long pass from Hill as the Blue Devils beat Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA Tournament, a couple of years before any of the current Pioneers were born.
In Wayland's version of that legendary play, Nobles, a 6-foot-6 junior, heaved a rainbow pass to Robertson, and Robertson came through.
The senior from New Orleans – again from the top of the 3-point line – spun and, while being knocked to the floor, banked in the game-winning bucket.
Not only that, but CCC's Paul Ard II was called for a foul, sending Robertson to the line with a chance to win it for the visitors.
And that's just what he did, as the ball bounced off the front of the rim, then the back, before finally falling through.
The Tigers' Jubril Osagie failed on a desperation 3/4-length-of-the-court shot as time expired.
Harrelson described Wayland's game-winning possession as "just a great play."
"It was a great pass from Jack, and Trevonta obviously did a great job," the coach said. "There definitely was some skill involved in catching the ball, turning and seeing the rim, and also being strong enough to get it up there while being fouled."
With such an unlikely rally down the stretch, Harrelson admitted to the basketball gods smiling on Wayland.
"There was definitely a little bit of luck. Tonight it was on our side."
The coach credited Robertson, Doerue,
J.J. Culver,
Tre Fillmore and
CJ Obinwa, along with Throns who was subbing in for offense, for pulling out the victory.
"Those six guys were the ones who brought us back," he said. "They just kept making plays."
Throns' 27 points came on 8-of-10 shooting from the field including 5-of-6 from long range plus 6-of-6 from the foul stripe.
"Josh was pretty awesome," Harrelson said. "He made plays the whole game."
Robertson finished with 20 points while Culver added 15 and nine rebounds.
Wayland, in its first action after a 12-day layoff, shot 56 percent (28-of-50) from the floor, including 50 percent (10-of-20) from 3-point land. The Pioneers made 22-of-27 (82 percent) of their free throws, compared to 69 percent (18-of-26) for CCC.
Steve Kuminga scored 19 to lead five Tigers in double figures.
Wayland, which trailed by as many as eight midway through the second half, won despite getting just 25 rebounds, which was only four fewer than CCC. The Pioneers turned it over 17 times, four more than the Tigers.
WBU scored the first seven points of the game, but the Tigers got the next nine. Wayland trailed 46-45 at the half and, after falling behind by eight, 69-61, scored eight straight points to tie it at 69 with 6½ minutes to play.
The Pioneers didn't seem to have much hope trailing 84-77 with 49 seconds left, but outscored the home town 11-3 down the stretch.
"I guess that's why you always play 40 minutes," Harrelson said. "I'm really proud of the guys. I never saw on their faces that they thought they wouldn't win the game. For them to keep their cool and believe in each other…what a great lesson."
Wayland next travels to Langston, Okla., for a 4 p.m. contest Saturday against undefeated, sixth-ranked Langston (11-0, 3-0). The Lions, who knocked off then No. 5 Oklahoma City on the road, 93-84, in its conference opener, defeated Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Thursday, 87-70.
Saturday's winner takes over sole possession of first place in the SAC.
