GOODWELL, Okla. –
Jack Nobles scored 28 points and Wayland Baptist hung tough down the stretch as the Pioneers defeated Oklahoma-Panhandle State in a Sooner Athletic Conference battle here Tuesday night, 75-66.
Wayland (17-9, 10-7 SAC), after trailing by as many as seven in the first half, led most of the final 20 minutes. The Pioneers were up by 10, but the Aggies cut it to three, 69-66, with two minutes to go.
From there, Wayland didn't give up another point as the Pioneers scored the final six points, all at the free throw line where Nobles,
Payton Havens and
Tre Fillmore nailed two foul shots apiece to clinch it.
"We held them to 28 points in the second half. I thought that was a key to the game after giving up too many (38) in the first half," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said.
The 28 points by Nobles were the second most of the senior's WBU career, behind only the 33 he posted in late December against Hardin-Simmons. He went 9-of-18 from the field, including a 3-pointer, and 9-of-10 at the free-throw line where as a team the Pioneers hit 23-of-27 (85 percent).
"Jack got in some foul trouble in the first half, but he was really good down the stretch," Harrelson said, adding, "We shot the ball well from the free-throw line and dominated the boards (38-28)."
J.J. Culver added 15 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out four assists, plus came up with a big late-game steal.
"J.J. made a lot of good plays today. He made good decisions and had some nice assists," Harrelson said.
Fillmore chipped in 13 points, with Fillmore and Havens both going a perfect 4-of-4 at the charity stripe.
Wayland's defense aided OPSU into committing 23 turnovers. The Pioneers gave it away 17 times. WBU had seven blocks, four by
Jibrael Washington.
"We had some really bad turnovers, so we need to reduce those," Harrelson said.
The Aggies, who lost to Wayland when they met in Plainview, 94-59, were led by Austin Chatman with 21 points.
"We left a few points out there that we probably should have had, including a couple of fast-break lay-ups, but we moved the ball really well down the stretch," Harrelson said.
Wayland next travels to Muskogee, Okla., to take on winless Bacone (0-22) in a non-conference game at 8 p.m. Thursday. The Pioneers defeated Bacone, on Jan. 25, 104-47.
"It's another opportunity to play better," Harrelson said. "We have a little winning streak going (3 straight) at the end of the year, which is what you want."
WBU winds up the week in Siloam Springs, Ark., against No. 9 John Brown (23-3, 14-2), which defeated Wayland in the first half of conference play, 64-56.
"It's cliché, but we're taking everything one day at a time, one possession at a time."
