GOODWELL, Okla. – Trailing by 10 at halftime, the Wayland Baptist Pioneers rallied in the final 20 minutes to pull out a 71-68 season-opening victory over Randall University in coach
Clint Galyean's WBU debut here Thursday night.
"It was ugly, but I'd rather learn from a win than a loss," a relieved Galyean said. "It's good to get that first one."
Down 46-36 at intermission in the Mazzio's Classic hosted by Oklahoma-Panhandle State, the Pioneers slowly worked their way back in the game before regaining the lead with under three minutes to play. Wayland didn't give up control after that, hitting big shots and several free throws down the stretch while continuing to play tough defense.
"We did what we were supposed to do in the second half. We quit fouling and stopped turning the ball over," Galyean said.
Thad Udoh paced the Pioneers with 29 points and nine rebounds. The second-year freshman hit 13-of-19 field goals as the 6-foot-5 forward almost doubled his career-best scoring total, 15, from last season.
Gage Hulse, in his second sophomore season due to COVID-19, matched his career-best with 16 points. Another sophomore,
Josh Servantez, added eight points, while senior
Jibrael Washington and freshman Jaxon Reecer had seven rebounds each.
Wayland held a 43-31 rebounding edge, with the Pioneers getting 16 offensive boards. "That was big," Galyean said.
The coach said his team "actually jumped out on them early then got in foul trouble," leading to the 10-point halftime hole.
But WBU stepped it up defensively in the second half, holding Randall to 27 percent shooting (8-of-30) from the field. The Pioneers shut down Randall's top two scorers from the first half, limiting Malik Martin who scored 19 in the first 20 minutes to just three in the final 20, and Boog Lewis who scored 14 in the first half to five in the second.
"We did a lot better job on them in the second half," Galyean said.
Wayland has a quick turnaround before taking the court for its next game against Bethany (Kan.) at noon Friday. Bethany defeated host OPSU on Thursday, 80-65.
