LANGSTON, Okla. –
J.J. Culver scored 19 points and
CJ Obinwa 18 to lead Wayland Baptist to an 87-62 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Langston University here Thursday night.
The game went back-and-forth for the first half of the first half, until Culver hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Pioneers (10-5, 4-3 SAC) a 27-23 lead with 7:42 left before intermission.
The Pioneers never trailed again.
Wayland was up by seven, 44-37, at the half, then scored the first nine points after the break to begin pulling away.
Payton Havens hit a 3-pointer to get the run started.
The closest the Lions (10-6, 3-4) came after that was 14 points as Wayland outscored Langston in the second half, 43-25.
"We moved the ball better than we have been. That was a key we've been trying to focus on," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said. "Sometimes the ball sticks (in our offense). Tonight we shared it."
It was Wayland's second straight win following a four-game skid that saw the Pioneers slip from ninth in the NAIA to the equivalent of 34
th. WBU took over fifth place in the SAC standings, while Langston fell into a tie for sixth.
Besides Culver's 19 and Obinwa's 18,
Jack Nobles scored 10 and
Bonny Udoh nine for Wayland. It was only the second game of the season for Udoh, and first since Dec. 28 when he was injured in his first game of the season after joining the roster after the Christmas break.
"Bonny was a good spark for us off the bench, and CJ and J.J. shot the ball well, as did Jack," said Harrelson, whose Pioneers shot 58 percent (36-of-62) from the field, including 44 percent (8-of-18) from the 3-point line. Wayland hit all seven of its free throws.
Havens wound up with nine of Wayland's 16 assists, while Nobles and
Jibrael Washington led in rebounds with six each. Culver finished with four steals.
"Payton controlled the tempo of the game. He had nine assists and only one turnover," Harrelson pointed out.
Langston, which shot 40 percent from the field, 29 percent (5-of-17) from long range and 65 percent (15-of-23) from the foul line, got 17 points from Latarius Lloyd, 16 from David Hunt II and 14 from Alfonzo Anderson.
The Pioneers held a 37-26 rebounding edge.
Wayland is back in action at 3:45 p.m. Saturday in McPherson, Kan., against Central Christian College (8-7, 1-6), which snapped a six-game losing skid with an 81-64 win over Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Thursday.
Harrelson, who along with assistant coach
Landon Hughey is suffering from a stomach virus, said the Pioneers benefited Thursday from having Udoh back in the lineup.
"It was nice to have the full team together. Hopefully we can keep it going Saturday at Central Christian."
Wayland defeated the Tigers twice last season by one point, 88-87 and 71-70.
