CHICKASHA, Okla. – Wayland Baptist built a 14-point lead then hung on down the stretch as the 14
th-ranked Pioneers defeated No. 24 Science & Arts of Oklahoma here Saturday afternoon, 73-70. The Drovers missed two game-tying 3-pointers at the buzzer, and the Pioneers solidified their lead in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
"USAO is a good team. That was a good road win for us," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said. "Our guys are playing well on the road. That's four (road wins) in a row."
USAO (14-7, 7-6 SAC) rallied from a 10-point deficit with six minutes left by hitting a pair of 3-pointers and scoring 11 unanswered points to take a 69-67 lead with 2:46 to play. But the Pioneers (16-5, 11-2) clamped down on defense and got clutch scoring from
J.J. Culver and
Trevonta Robertson down the stretch.
"USAO made a great comeback. They hit some 3s and got some second chances off rebounds," Harrelson said. "We got a timeout and after that our guys really executed our offense."
With Wayland down two, Culver came up with back-to-back buckets – the first after an assist by Robertson – to give Wayland back the lead. After USAO's Geno Artison made 1-of-2 free throws and missed a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound, Robertson drove to the bucket and scored on a pull-up jumper in the paint to make it a 3-point game with 12 seconds left.
"Trevonta made a big play in crunch time," Harrelson said.
The Drovers managed to get off a pair of 3-pointers – one by Stephon Hall, who had already made six treys, and another by Tre'veon Ellis – but neither connected before time ran out.
"We played pretty good defense on (both last-second shots)," Harrelson said.
Robertson led Wayland with 22 points, followed by Culver with 14,
Tre Fillmore with 10, and
Jack Nobles and
Josh Throns with eight each. Robertson, who along with Fillmore nailed three 3-pointers, also led the Pioneers with six rebounds, while Culver had five boards and four assists.
The Drovers were paced by the 24 points of Hall, who went 6-of-11 from 3-point range. Artison added 16 points.
Cameron Hines, who pumped in 30 points against Wayland when the Pioneers won the conference-opener in Plainview, 95-88, was held to a mere two points on 1-of-10 shooting. Harrelson credited defense by Robertson for shutting down Hines.
"Trevonta played great pick-and-roll defense and contested all of his shots. It was a big assignment, and he was really fantastic against him."
Wayland shot 52 percent (23-of-44) from the field, including 8-of-18 3-pointers, and made 19-of-27 free throws (70 percent). USAO attempted 14 more shots – 22-of-58 (38 percent) overall and 13-of-33 3s – and 13-of-19 foul shots (68 percent).
The Pioneers won despite being outrebounded, 29-26, and having 17 turnovers, eight more than the Drovers.
The win was Wayland's second straight on the road after a tough 73-72 home loss to No. 24 John Brown last Saturday.
The Pioneers are back in Hutcherson Center on Thursday to host No. 8, second-place Langston (17-4, 9-4), which Wayland leads by two games in the SAC standings, along with JBU. The Lions edged Oklahoma City at home on Saturday, 63-61.
Langston defeated Wayland when the teams met in Oklahoma in mid-December, 72-69.
"Langston has lost some (games), but they had a few players out when that happened. Coach (Stan) Holt does a really good job with them," Harrelson said. "We'll get back to Plainview and rest and get ready before our next two."
The Pioneers end next week by hosting Central Christian (10-10, 4-9) at 4 p.m. Saturday.
