J.J. Culver poured in 34 points to lead third-ranked Wayland Baptist to a season-opening 100-51 victory over Arlington Baptist in the first round of the McDonald's Tip-Off Classic on Thursday night in Hutcherson Center.
"There's always the unknown with the first game. We didn't have a scrimmage or anything, so this was the first time we've faced anyone besides ourselves," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said.
For the most part, Harrelson liked what he saw.
Culver hit six 3-pointers, including five in the first half when the Pioneers drained 13 of their 17 bombs to assume a commanding 58-20 lead over the Patriots, who were also making their season-debut.
"I thought we were really focused at the start of the game," Harrelson said.
The 13 3s netted fans free French fries at McDonald's, while the 100 points added a free appetizer at Cotton Patch.
Culver's 34 points – in 27 minutes of action – were two shy of his career-high of 36 from his freshman season. The NAIA First-Team All-American had 21 points at halftime.
Senior
CJ Obinwa, in his second season at Wayland, ended with 19 points, surpassing his previous best of 16. Junior
Tre Fillmore tacked on 17 points in 17 minutes. Both Obinwa and Fillmore hit four 3-pointers apiece, while freshman
Jordan Brannon had three and finished with nine points.
Nine of the 10 Pioneers who saw playing time scored. The only one who didn't, 6-foot-8
Jibrael Washington, didn't shoot but ended with five rebounds and three blocks.
Deng Bol Yol, the 6-11 junior from Uganda, scored seven points and had eight rebounds, but it was
Payton Havens, a 5-10 freshman point-guard, who led the team on the boards with nine.
Havens was one of three freshmen, along with Brannon and
Gage Hulse, who impressed Harrelson.
"All three of those guys played pretty well for their first college game, and I expect their performances to just keep getting better," the coach said.
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The Pioneers lit it up in the first half, hitting 13-of-23 3-pointers to be on pace to break the school record of 22 treys. But Wayland slowed down the pace a bit after halftime and shot just 13 3s, making four, to wind up 17-of-36 (47 percent) from long range.
Overall, Wayland shot 51 percent from the floor (36-of-70), but struggled from the free-throw line where the Pioneers made 11-of-26 (42 percent).
Arlington Baptist, which was led by Jordan Williams with 16 points, was 2-of-5 from the foul line.
The Pioneers forced 29 turnovers while committing just a dozen themselves. Culver came up with a team-high four steals to go with three rebounds and three assists.
"It was a fun atmosphere to tip off the season," Harrelson said. "We're thankful for the crowd. Hopefully everybody had a good time and comes back. Our guys definitely feed off the energy from the fans."
Wayland is back in action at 8 p.m. Friday against McMurry, which fell in the first game of the Classic to Oklahoma-Panhandle State, 82-80. Maurice Waters paced the Aggies with 18 points, while Cody LeBlanc and Khalil Butler got 16 each for the War Hawks.
The game saw 53 turnovers.
Harrelson called McMurry very athletic and experienced. "Five of their top six scorers are back from last year. It will be a good early-season test for us."
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