FORT WORTH – Led by freshman
Devin Avent's 36 points, Wayland Baptist rallied from an 18-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to secure a 78-75 victory over Texas Wesleyan in the Sooner Athletic Conference Opener here Saturday afternoon.
"That was a great comeback by our guys. They dug deep…real deep," Wayland coach
Ty Harrelson said. "They took care of the ball down the stretch and made plays on both ends of the court."
Playing for just the second time since the season was suspended by COVID-19 in early November, Wayland (2-1) trailed 57-39 with 10:38 to play and was down by 13, 64-51, with 7½ minutes left. That's when the Pioneers really went to work, outscoring the Rams, 17-2, to take their first lead of the game, 68-66, on a bucket by
Jibrael Washington with just under three minutes on the clock.
Texas Wesleyan, ranked the equivalent of 36
th in the NAIA, regained a 3-point lead, 75-72, but the Rams wouldn't score in the game's final 65 seconds. Wayland, meanwhile, got two free throws by Avent and, after a Rams turnover, a bucket by
Javorian Miller to put the Pioneers ahead 76-75 with 28 ticks left.
The Rams missed a pair of free throws before Miller sank 1-of-2 foul shots for Wayland. Wesleyan then missed a go-ahead 3-pointer, which Avent rebounded before being fouled. He hit the second of two free throws with eight seconds left, leaving the Rams with one last chance.
But instead of launching a 3 for the tie, Davon Berry drove the lane where his shot was blocked by Washington, sealing the victory for Wayland.
"I'm proud of the team, and not just the guys who played. Even the guys who didn't get minutes were locked into the game," said Harrelson, who praised assistant coach
Landon Hughey for scouting the Rams. "He did a great job with their scouring report.
"It took the whole team, the whole community, to get that one."
None were bigger than Avent, a 6-foot guard from Fort Worth who got his 36 points – an amazing 30 in the second half – on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, including 4-of-11 from 3-point range, and 10-of-12 free throws. He added six rebounds and three assists in 39-plus minutes of play.
"With the way he's playing it's hard to take him off the court," Harrelson said of Avent, who scored eight and 16 points in his first two outings as a Pioneer. "We know he's a great player, and he was ready today. He's worked really hard on his conditioning after a long break. He's been pushing himself in practice to do extra.
"He was really good pretty much all day, and fantastic down the stretch."
Harrelson called Avent's 30 second-half points "just amazing. I don't know that we've had a player do that (in one half) in conference."
Gage Hulse added a dozen points and
Thad Udoh nine for Wayland. Harrelson said both were clutch in the closing minutes.
"Those last seven minutes Gage and Thad made some big plays," the coach said.
Wayland had 21 turnovers, but none in the final 15:38.
"That's what it took for us to win the game," Harrelson said. "We made some adjustments defensively down the stretch that also helped."
He said the team watched video Saturday morning of previous comebacks.
"They really believe we have a chance to win a game even if we're losing. It's a credit to them to not fold when we got down by 18."
Wayland shot 53 percent (25-of-47) from the floor and 42 percent (8-of-19) from long range. The Pioneers finished 20-of-30 (67 percent) from the line.
The Rams, led by Peyton Sallee's 17 points, hit 10-of-28 3s (36 percent) toward 24-of-59 field shooting (41 percent). They made 17-of-25 free throws (68 percent).
Wayland, which overcame 21 turnovers (TXWES had 19), held a 34-30 rebounding edge, led by Avent's half-dozen.
In addition to his block on the final play, Washington was credited with two other big defensive swats. Harrelson said it felt like he had more.
"Those were big plays because it took away layups for them and got us started on fast breaks the other way."
The Pioneers are back in action at 4 p.m. Monday in Waxahachie against No. 22 Southwestern Assemblies of God University (1-0), which played Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Saturday.
"Obviously we're happy we won, but now we have to refocus," Harrelson said. "SAGU is obviously a good team, and they're going to be ready for us."
