Box Score
The Wayland Baptist Pioneers won a close one, and, boy, did they need it.
After trailing most of Thursday night's game against Central Christian (Kan.), the No. 20 Pioneers came through down the stretch and pulled out a 64-60 victory over the Sooner Athletic Conference newcomer.
"I'm proud of our guys. They stepped up and executed what we worked on in practice," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said. "We really needed to win a close game."
The Pioneers (16-7, 8-6 SAC) had lost their last three conference games (not counting a forfeit win over St. Gregory's) by a total of just five points.
"We lost a couple of close games and I felt like we mismanaged some late-game situations," Harrelson said.
They didn't against Central Christian (12-11, 5-10).
The Tigers led much of the contest, although never by more than seven points. That came some five minutes into the second half when the visitors went up 43-36.
A 3-pointer by
J.J. Culver, who had 12 points and five rebounds off the bench, made sure the Tigers didn't get too far away.
Ruben Lopez then went on a scoring frenzy, recording 10 of his 12 points over a 5½-minute stretch. It included three 3-pointers, the last of which gave Wayland a 49-47 lead with 8:40 to go.
The Pioneers never trailed again, although it was close the rest of the way.
Wayland's largest lead was six, 58-52, but CCC went on an 8-2 run to tie it at 60 with 48 seconds to go.
After referees denied
Samuel Kalwanyi an and-one, the 6-foot-7 senior – who ended with eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds – hit both ends of a one-and-one. After CCC's Cam Martin missed a layup – made tough by Kalwanyi who grabbed the miss – the Pioneers got two more clutch free throws, this time by
Josh Throns with 3.8 seconds left that all but ended it.
"We managed the clock and we stepped up and hit our free throws, which was big," Harrelson said of his team's play down the stretch. "We had the same situation a couple of weeks against Southwestern Christian and didn't do a very good job, but tonight was much better."
Wayland hit 9-of-13 fouls shots (69 percent). The Pioneers also made half of their 18 3-pointers, including Culver's 4-of-5 performance. CCC also hit half of its 3s (8-of-16) and 12-of-19 free throws (63 percent).
WBU dominated the boards, 38-25, which helped the Pioneers overcome 21 turnovers, seven more than the Tigers.
"If we can learn from our mistakes that's going to take us through the rest of the year," Harrelson said.
Next up for the Pioneers at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Hutch is league-leading, 15
th-ranked Oklahoma City (18-5, 11-4), which on Thursday won its seventh straight over Oklahoma Panhandle State, 101-90. That win came on the heels of a 114-108 double-overtime road victory over No. 7 USAO a week earlier.
"They are a very good defensive team. They grind it out. It's going to be a defensive battle," Harrelson said of Saturday contest. "They have some all-Americans on their team and they're well-coached."
The Pioneers will be looking to avenge a 79-70 loss at OCU Jan. 18, a game that started the Stars' string of wins.
"We'll have to show up," Harrelson said. "Every game is tough in this conference. There's never a night off."
