J.J. Culver scored 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and
Jack Nobles had 18 points and nine boards to lead Wayland Baptist to an 88-71 Sooner Athletic Conference win over Oklahoma City University on Thursday night in Hutcherson Center.
"It's that time of the season…it's crunch time and we have to find the line-ups that work," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said. "I feel like today we had the right guys on the court at the right time."
Ranked the equivalent of 33
rd in the NAIA, the Pioneers (19-10, 11-8 SAC) trailed just once in the game, by a single point early. The Stars (14-15, 6-13) were down by three, 38-35, early in the second half, but Wayland went on a 10-0 run, followed shortly afterwards by a 12-0 push as part of a combined 22-4 run that expanded the Pioneers lead to a healthy 21 points, 60-39, midway through the second half.
C.J. Obinwa hit a pair of 3-pointers during the game-changing run, while
Bonny Udoh and
Jordan Brannon nailed one each.
The closest the Stars came after that was 14, while Wayland went up by as much as 26 before stamping the 17-point victory.
"We've tried to motivate our guys to play together, and tonight we played very unselfish basketball," said Harrelson, pointing out his team's 18 assists. "The guys executed the offense."
The Pioneers – who defeated OCU by 14, 68-54, when they met Nov. 23 in Oklahoma City – wound up with 16 3-pointers (on 34 attempts, 47 percent), one shy of their season-high accomplished in their season-opening win over Arlington Baptist. Obinwa and Brannon hit four 3s each, while Udoh and
Tre Fillmore got three apiece and Culver two.
The 3s helped Wayland overcome a 25-8 disparity at the free-throw line, where the Stars had twice as many attempts as the home team, 28-14. OCU missed only three all game (89 percent).
In addition to his 25 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, Culver collected six assists, three steals and a block. Nobles came up one rebound shy of his third double-double.
Obinwa and Brannon finished with a dozen points each while Udoh got 10 and Fillmore nine to go with five assists.
OCU was led by Rashaun Coleman, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Eddie Smith with 15 points.
Wayland ends the regular-season by hosting Southwestern Christian (14-13, 7-12) at 3:45 p.m. Saturday when the Pioneers will recognize their four seniors. The Eagles ended a five-game slide with a 92-90 road win over Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Thursday. Wayland defeated Southwestern Christian in the SAC opener in November, 77-65.
"That could be our 20
th win (but) we're going to have to battle," Harrelson said. "The most important thing is we get some rest and recover and get ready for Southwestern Christian. They're a good team and they're fighting with OCU for (seeding) position.
"That's a very, very important game for us on Senior Day."
The Pioneers are assured of finishing fifth in the conference and will play the No. 4 seed – 13
th-ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God -- in the first round of the SAC Tournament on Tuesday in Waxahachie. Tuesday's winners advance to the semifinals to be hosted by Wayland on March 6, along with the championship game March 7.
"I feel like if we get to 20 wins and fifth place in the Sooner Athletic Conference we have a really good chance at the national tournament as an at-large bid," Harrelson said. "We want to be playing our best basketball and give ourselves a chance to win the (conference) tournament."
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