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SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. – Wayland Baptist battled back from a 14-point deficit in the final three minutes but couldn't quite complete the comeback as the 10
th-ranked Pioneers fell to No. 21 John Brown University in a crazy Sooner Athletic Conference showdown here Thursday night, 78-75.
"Congratulations to JBU. They really executed well tonight," WBU coach
Ty Harrelson said.
The game between the SAC's top two teams came down to the wire as the Pioneers (18-6, 13-3 SAC) whittled away at what was a 16-point lead with 11 minutes to go.
John Brown (18-7, 12-5) held a comfortable 67-53 edge with 3:08 showing, but the Pioneers never threw in the towel. Wayland still trailed by nine with 34 ticks to go, but
CJ Obinwa nailed a 3-pointer and, after the Golden Eagles hit two free throws,
Spencer Lindsey drilled in a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 77-72 with :17 on the clock.
After JBU made 1-of-2 free throws, Wayland's top free-throw shooter,
Josh Throns, was fouled as he almost made a 3-pointer. Throns did make all three of his fouls shots with five seconds to go, then the Pioneers trapped the ball before JBU was able to get a timeout called with 2.9 seconds left.
The Golden Eagles came back out and Wayland's
Trevonta Robertson intercepted a long pass at midcourt. The senior took a couple of quick dribbles and tried to get past a John Brown defender near the sideline but was called for traveling with .2 seconds left. The Pioneers' bench felt Robertson might have been tripped.
JBU successfully in-bounded the ball one last time, and it was over.
"We played very hard, with great heart, for all 40 minutes. We eve had a chance to tie the game on the final play," Harrelson said.
It was Wayland's third consecutive loss at John Brown.
Wayland was led by Robertson's 18 points, followed by
J.J. Culver's 14 and Lindsey's 12. Obinwa ended with eight and Throns seven, leaving the senior from Australia two points away from joining the Pioneers' 1,000-point club.
The Pioneers shot the ball well – 53 percent (27-of-49) from the field, including 38 percent (8-of-21 from 3-point range, and 94 percent (15-of-16) from the free-throw line – but were undone by 24 turnovers, which matched a season-worst. JBU gave it away 19 times.
"We turned the ball over too many times tonight and it cost us," Harrelson said. "Defensively, we made a few mistakes and JBU made us pay."
The Golden Eagles shot equally well: 47 percent (23-of-49) from the field, including 40 percent (8-of-20) from deep, and 86 percent (24-of-28) from the foul stripe. Josh Bowling led the Golden Eagles with 20 points, followed by Luke Harper's 17, Jake Caudle's 13 and Desmond Kennedy's 10.
The game saw only 50 total rebounds, 27 for WBU, which trailed after a low-scoring first half, 32-25.
"I thought both teams played well defensively in the first half," Harrelson said.
The Pioneers' lead atop the SAC standings shrunk to 1½ games over the Golden Eagles, a team that also beat Wayland last month in Plainview, 73-72.
WBU will look to bounce back at 3 p.m. (instead of 4 p.m.) Saturday in Muskogee, Okla., against last-place Bacone (2-20, 0-17), losers of 14 straight. The Pioneers defeated the Warriors in their first meeting, 90-77.
"Moving forward it's about execution. I said it after the (Central Christian) game and tonight it caught up with us," Harrelson said.
"We will refocus on Bacone and finishing this road trip on a positive note."
