Fillmore's 24 fuels #14 Pioneers past OPSU

Tre Fillmore erupted for a career-high 24 points and Wayland Baptist again dominated the boards as the No. 14 Pioneers rolled to an 82-76 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Tuesday night in Hutcherson Center.

Conference-leading Wayland (13-4, 8-1 SAC) trailed by two points 4½ minutes into the second half, but the Pioneers outscored the Aggies (8-7, 3-6), 14-2, to regain the lead and never look back. WBU went up by as many as 14 before a late run by the Aggies forced the Pioneers to hit free throws down the stretch – the last six by Fillmore – in order to win their fifth straight.

Fillmore's 24 points off the bench – including 19 in the second half – tripled his previous best this season and more than doubled his career-best of 11 last season. The sophomore guard from Amarillo Palo Duro was 6-of-10 from the field – including 3-of-5 3-pointers – and missed only one of 10 free throws.

The performance came as no surprise to coach Ty Harrelson.

"I've seen Tre do that at practice. He's very capable," Harrelson said of Fillmore, who also drew three charges. "He's able to put points on the board quickly. Tonight was kind of a break-out for him."

Junior J.J. Culver, who earlier in the day was named NAIA Player of the Week, ended with 17 points and a game-best seven rebounds along with five assists.

"J.J. was J.J. He probably could have had a few more assists (but) we had a couple of guys miss layups. He kept pressure on the defense," Harrelson said.

Josh Throns added a dozen points and CJ Obinwa 11, while Rokas Mazionis tallied eight points, six boards and four assists.

Wayland played without one of its top scorers, Trevonta Robertson, for the fifth straight game and also was without injured junior starting forward Jack Nobles.

"Those are two high-caliber players who were out," said Harrelson, adding that Mazionis and Throns came through with big contributions in their absence. "I thought Rokas and Josh were great. They got us off to a great start. Josh hit a couple of 3s and Rokas had some good assists. He's a fantastic passer. We run a lot of our offense through him. I thought he was really good today."

OPSU got 33 points from senior guard Breiman Alexander, the NAIA's second-leading scorer who came in averaging 25.2 ppg.

"He can really shoot the ball," Harrelson said.

Alexander put in half of the Aggies' dozen 3-pointers on 12 tries and went 11-of-21 overall from the field. Jaedon Whitfield added 15 points, Alan Hodge Jr. 12 and Khallid Edwards 10.

Wayland ended with 44 rebounds compared to just 24 for OPSU. The Aggies managed just two offensive boards compared to the Pioneers' 13.

"We really work on that," said Harrelson, who bragged on his team's inside depth. "Not many teams have four big men like us."

The Pioneers shot 45 percent (29-of-62) from the field, 35 percent (8-of-23) from 3-point range, and 76 percent (16-of-21) from the foul line. OPSU's numbers were 46 percent (25-of-54), 41 percent (12-of-29) and 74 percent (14-of-29).

Wayland got up by 11 points, 24-13, on the heels of back-to-back 3-pointers from Obinwa and Throns. Five of the Pioneers' first nine field goals were 3s.

The Aggies quickly cut the lead to four and tied it at 32 before the Pioneers took a 40-35 lead into intermission.

OPSU's lone lead came at 44-42.

The game was the first of a three-game home-stand for the Pioneers, who next host last-place Bacone (2-12, 0-9) at 8 p.m. Thursday. The Warriors have dropped their last six straight, most recently to USAO on Saturday, 90-80.

"Thursday night in Hutcherson Center…that's kind of what we play for," Harrelson said. "I hope our students realize we're in first place in the conference – as are the women – and get some school spirit and have this place rocking Thursday night. It's a fun team to watch."

Harrelson, the HoopDirt.com NAIA Coach of the Week, added his congratulations to Culver and the entire team (named NABC Team of the Week). "That's pretty good recognition."