Pioneers upset No.16 SAGU; eye top-4 finish

Behind 31 points from RJ Mason and a season-high 17 3-pointers, Wayland Baptist picked up a pivotal win Thursday night in Hutcherson Center, stunning No. 16 Southwestern Assemblies of God University, 94-74, and moving within a win of securing a much-desired conference tournament bye.

"They say role players play better at home, and ours did that tonight," WBU coach Clint Galyean said.

Wayland (16-12, 12-9 Sooner Athletic Conference) jumped all over the Lions (19-7, 16-5) and led by 21 points at halftime. SAGU made a big push after halftime and pulled to within six, but the Pioneers pushed back and built another healthy lead, 25 points, before settling for the 20-point win over the NAIA's 16^th-ranked Lions.

The win – Wayland's sixth in seven games – kept the Pioneers in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings and could be the difference in determining the No. 4 seed in the upcoming SAC Tournament. With Science & Arts of Oklahoma (24-4, 19-2), SAGU (19-7, 16-5) and Oklahoma City (15-13, 14-7) locked in at first, second and third, respectively, WBU (16-12, 12-9) is tied for fourth with Texas Wesleyan (19-10, 12-9), which lost at home to OCU Thursday, 83-77.

Wayland would secure the No. 4 seed if the Pioneers defeat North Texas-Dallas (12-16, 8-13) in the regular-season finale, set for a 4 p.m. tipoff Saturday in the Hutch. The Pioneers defeated UNTD in the first half of conference play, 66-52.

Even if TXWES wins its finale on the road against John Brown (17-12, 11-10), leaving the Pioneers and Rams (who split their head-to-head meetings) in a tie for fourth, WBU would get the No. 4 seed and accompanying first-round tournament bye because Wayland owns a win over the highest-seeded team: Thursday's victory over SAGU.

"Hopefully we can finish it," Galyean said.

The Pioneers were able to finish SAGU Thursday after establishing that big lead then never giving it all away. That's what happened Jan. 12 when these teams met in Waxahachie. Wayland held a 10-point lead with 4½ minutes to go, but the then No. 12 Lions hit four consecutive 3-pointers and the Pioneers missed one at the buzzer as SAGU escaped, 67-65.

There would be no escaping this time.

Wayland jumped out to a 10-2 lead then went on a 12-1 run to make it a 20-point game, 36-16, when Gage Hulse converted a 3-point play with eight minutes left in the first half. The Pioneers were up 21, 56-35, at the break.

"We shot it really well. We got a lot of inside-out looks, which made for easier shots," Galyean said. "And for the most part we contested everything of theirs and kept them out of transition."

Galyean likely knew the Lions would make a run after intermission, and it didn't take long to happen. SAGU opened the second half with an 18-3 run, quickly cutting its deficit to six less than seven minutes in as Wayland missed its first five field goal attempts and suffered six turnovers.

Undaunted, the Pioneers started answering the Lions on offense, getting a much-needed bucket by RJ Mason for its first bucket of the second half some 7½ minutes in. Mason then came up with a steal that led to a 3-pointer by Josh Servantez, and the Pioneers appeared to have staved off SAGU's best shot.

Not long after that, Dylan McDougal hit a pair of bombs, Servantez nailed one, Jibrael Washington got a dunk and Thad Udoh converted an one-one, and suddenly the Pioneers were up 18. SAGU got no closer than 15 after that.

Galyean complimented his team's defense for clamping down and finally stopping SAGU's second-half comeback.

"We try to get seven kills (three stops in a row) every game. We only got five tonight, but we only had one with about 13 minutes left in the game, then we got four, so that kind of killed their momentum," the coach said.

Mason's 31 points eclipsed his previous best this season by five. The junior guard hit six of Wayland's 17 3s as the Pioneers finished 17-of-36 (47 percent) from long range compared to 8-of-23 for SAGU. He also was 5-of-5 from the free-throw line, where Wayland was an impressive 13-of-16 (81 percent).

"Our guys spend hours and hours and hours shooting in our gym," Galyean said.

Servantez and McDougal accounted for four 3s apiece, with Servantez ending with 18 points and the freshman McDougal 16. Jordan Brannon added 10 off the bench, while Jaxon Recer pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Mason and McDougal logged five assists each.

SAGU was led by Nathan Bailey's 22 points.