BETHANY, Okla. – Wayland Baptist led by 12 points with 3½ minutes left, but Southwestern Christian went on a 17-4 game-ending run – hitting the go-ahead points with four seconds left – as the Eagles pulled out a 69-68 Sooner Athletic Conference victory here Saturday evening.
The Pioneers (10-11, 6-8 SAC), looking for their third straight win, assumed a 64-52 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers by
Jaxon Recer and
RJ Mason.
But Wayland made just two baskets the rest of the way, the last by
Javorian Miller with 49 seconds to play that put the Pioneers up 68-62. SCU (10-6, 8-5) took advantage of a missed shot followed by a WBU turnover when Khristien White hit a 3, cutting WBU's lead in half.
The Pioneers missed a layup, then SCU cut it to 68-67 with a bucket with 19 seconds to play. WBU was called for traveling with 10 ticks left. The Eagles were fortunate when a pass into the paint missed its mark but ended up in the hands of Derek Dantzler, who hit a shot from the middle of the lane with four seconds to play.
After WBU called its final timeout to set up a final play, Miller inbounded the ball and got it back as he sprinted up the floor. He got a couple of steps passed midcourt when he launched a running shot that hit off the rim as time expired.
The Pioneers, who were looking to repeat their 71-66 win over Southwestern Christian on Nov. 18 in Plainview, outrebounded the Eagles 38-28 but were hurt by 25 turnovers, 10 more than SCU.
Wayland was led by
Thad Udoh, who came off the bench to hit 7-of-8 field goals and 3-of-3 free throws for 17 points.
Jaxon Recer added 12, while Miller tacked on eight.
RJ Mason, Parish Hewitt and
Dylan McDougal added seven each, while
Gage Hulse got six.
Jibrael Washington pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Hewitt, WBU's leading scorer, was in foul trouble much of the game and played 17 minutes.
Dantzler and Luiz Machado Jr. paced the Eagles with 13 points each. White and Braleen Patterson got 10 apiece. SCU hit just 5-of-22 3s (23 percent) and 10-of-19 free throws (53 percent).
WBU returns home for its next four games, starting Thursday night against Central Christian (10-10, 4-9). The Pioneers fell to the Tigers in Kansas on Dec. 4, 70-65.
