Gallery: (12-10-2022) Men's Basketball at Central Christian
McPHERSON, Kan. – Wayland Baptist fought back from a 12-point deficit to tie Central Christian, but the 16
th-ranked Pioneers couldn't make it happen down the stretch as they fell to the Tigers here Saturday, 69-62.
Wayland (7-2, 3-2 Sooner Athletic Conference) trailed 35-23 at the half. However, the Pioneers battled back and tied it at 49 on a bucket by
BJ Simmons with 7:43 to play.
WBU was never able to gain the lead, though, and Central Christian (4-7, 3-4) built an 8-point, 62-54 advantage. The Pioneers cut it to four, 66-62, on a 3-pointer by
Parrish Hewitt with 16 seconds left. After a foul, the Tigers hit one of two free throws, but Wayland turned it over, which led to another Wayland foul. This time, Central's Jamir Spivey hit both free shots with 13 seconds to play, making it a three-possession game.
The 62 points were a season-low for Wayland, 16 fewer than the next lowest output in a 78-68 win over Mid-America Christian in the Pioneers' last outing Dec. 3.
WBU turned it over 15 times, five more than the Tigers, and shot 42 percent (22-of-52) from the field compared to 53 percent (27-of-51) for Central. The Pioneers outscored the Tigers from the 3 (8-of-22 vs. 5-of-17) and the free-throw line (10-of-14, 71 percent vs. 10-of-17, 59 percent).
RJ Mason led Wayland with 14 points but was the only Pioneer starter in double-figures compared to four for Central Christian. Simmons got 11 points and
D'Michael Bellfield nine off the bench for the Pioneers.
Tedrick Wolfe ended with eight points and six rebounds and Hewitt seven and eight.
Jaxon Recer pulled down seven boards.
Central Christian was coming off a 71-63 win over Oklahoma-Panhandle State, which snapped a five-game losing skid.
Wayland faces another tough game in its next outing at 4 p.m. Monday on the road against 15
th-ranked Langston (10-0, 5-0), which trounced OPSU on Saturday, 102-59. Five Lions scored in double-digits and seven got at least eight points.
After Langston, the Pioneers play their final game of 2022 at 8 p.m. Thursday at OPSU.
