Box Score
CHICKASHA, Okla. – After an extended run of down-to-the-wire outcomes, Wayland Baptist enjoyed a semi-blowout victory Thursday night in Hutcherson Center, rolling to a 73-52 Sooner Athletic Conference win over Bacone that drew the Pioneers ever-closer to a coveted home playoff game.
"We enjoyed having a little bit of breathing room tonight," said Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson, whose Pioneers were coming off back-to-back overtime games.
Wayland (20-8, 12-7) got off to a 19-5 start, and it was never close again as the Pioneers strolled to their fifth win in six outings. WBU was up 38-22 at halftime then opened the second half on a 12-1 run to virtually put it out of reach.
"Ruben (Lopez) shot the ball really well, and J.J. (Culver) made quite a few plays early in the second half to put the game in hand," Harrelson said.
Wayland went up by as many as 35, 63-28, with 11 minutes left, and Harrelson cleared his bench shortly after that.
Lopez, who had half of Wayland's eight 3-pointers, and Culver scored 15 points apiece to lead Wayland, while
Samuel Kalwanyi finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, just missing his sixth double-double of the season.
The 21-point margin of victory over the Warriors (5-24, 1-81) was Wayland's fourth-largest of the season, and the 52 points represented the Pioneers' best defensive effort.
"I thought our defense was excellent today. Sammy was really good defensively. He dominated the boards and changed quite a few shots," Harrelson said.
Wayland shot 44 percent (25-of-57) from the field, 31 percent (8-of-26) from 3-point range and 65 percent (15-of-23) from the free-throw line.
"I thought offensively we moved the ball really well," Harrelson said.
The Pioneers held a 40-34 rebounding edge and were a plus-five in turnovers, 21-16.
"We had too many turnovers and didn't capitalize on a lot of opportunities. If there's one thing to take away for us to get better at is ball control and the importance of each possession," Harrelson said.
"The good thing is we didn't let those turnovers affect our defense. We got back in transition and got out to their shots and had good rotation most of the game."
Bacone's lone player in double-figures was Jordan McNellys with 15 points.
Wayland stands in fourth place – a half-game behind SAGU and a game ahead of USAO and Mid-America Christian – in the conference standings going into Saturday's regular-season finale, set for 3 p.m. in the Hutch against seventh-place John Brown (16-12, 10-9).
"We just need to win on Saturday and not worry about anybody else," Harrelson said.
John Brown ripped Panhandle State on the road Thursday, 96-54, while three other games were postponed to Friday due to inclement weather. The Golden Eagles handed Wayland an 86-64 loss when they squared off in Arkansas Jan. 4.
The top four teams in the conference host the bottom four teams in the first round of the SAC Tournament on Feb. 27. The winners move on to the final site in Siloam Springs, Ark., the following weekend.
Seniors Lopez, Kalwanyi,
Tyrone Davis, and
Marko Zelic will be honored before Saturday's tip-off.
