Basketball Player
Chinedu Okonkwo and baseball player
Gregory Ozuna have been named Wayland Baptist Student-Athletes of the Week.
Okonkwo, a 6-foot-7 senior forward/center from Samaru, Nigeria, helped the Pioneers to a pair of Sooner Athletic Conference road wins over Central Christian (79-75 in overtime) and Langston (80-45).
Against Central Christian, Okonkwo made 7-of-10 field goals in scoring 20 points and pulling down nine rebounds with two steals. Two days later against Langston, he logged his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds in just 22½ minutes.
For the week, Okonkwo shot 68 percent (15-of-22) from the floor. He ranks sixth in the NAIA in field goal percentage (70.4 percent).
The Pioneers (6-3, 5-2 SAC) host No. 15 Southwestern Assemblies of God at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Hutch.
Ozuna had a big weekend in the Pioneer baseball team's season-opening series against No. 25 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) at Wilder Field.
A 6-foot-1 senior shortstop from Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, Ozuna hit .563 (9-for-16) with three home runs and 10 RBIs over the four games. He scored four runs and was credited with a pair of doubles as he posted a slugging percentage of 1.250.
With the Pioneers trailing 6-4 going into the seventh inning of their season-opener, Ozuna hit a walk-off, three-run home run to give Wayland a 7-6 win. In Saturday's doubleheader (a 28-10 loss and 24-23 win), Ozuna went 6-for-8 with five RBIs. He helped the Pioneers tie a program record with eight home runs and 26 hits in the series-capping thriller.
Ozuna is a two-time All-SAC shortstop and made the SAC Gold Glove team last season.
Ozuna and the Pioneers next host Jarvis Christian in a pair of doubleheaders at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday at Wilder.
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