On a night
Jibrael Washington set the program record for career blocks, Wayland Baptist rallied from an 11-point deficit, coming to life in the second half to post a 70-57 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Oklahoma City University on Saturday evening at Hutcherson Center.
OCU, standing third in the conference, raced to a 19-8 lead midway through the first half, but Wayland got back-to-back 3s from
Josh Servantez to kick off a 12-3 run that got the Pioneers back in it.
Wayland (13-11, 9-8 SAC) logged an even more impressive spurt early in the second half, going from being down five to ahead by 11 thanks to a suffocating 19-3 dash.
Dylan McDougal led the charge with seven points, including one of WBU's four 3-pointers during that stretch when
Jordan Brannon, Servantez and
Javorian Miller also hit treys.
The Pioneers never trailed after that, although OCU (13-11, 12-5) cut it to three, 60-57, with just over 2:00 to play. But Wayland didn't allow the Stars to score again, closing the contest on a 10-0 run. All 10 points were provided by
Thad Udoh, including a traditional 3-point play as WBU coach
Clint Galyean put the ball in the hands of the second-year freshman from Amarillo.
Udoh's late rush gave him a game-high 22 points, his best outing since the first three games of the season when he put in 29, 20 and 25.
RJ Mason contributed 16 points, Servantez 11 and McDougal 10. Udoh, Mason and Brannon pulled down eight rebounds each.
Washington, meanwhile, changed the game on the defensive end of the floor, ending with a career-best nine blocks for the second straight game. Those impressive back-to-back block parties gives the 6-foot-8 senior 77 blocks on the season and 167 for his three-year WBU career, eclipsing the old record of 158 set by 7-foot-1 Deng D'Awol from 1998-2001. (D'Awol holds the program record for blocks in a game with 13; Carlton Davis holds the record for most blocks in a season [1984-85} with 114).
OCU, which shot just 26 percent (9-of-35) from the field in the second half, was led by Dravon Clayborn's 16 points, 12 from Ryan Birt and 11 points and 15 boards from Romario Spence.
Wayland's third straight win was the Pioneers' first trio of triumphs since late November-early December. They'll go for four straight at 7 p.m. Monday against John Brown in a game postponed from Thursday due to travel concerns brought on by inclement weather.
The Golden Eagles (16-9, 10-7) also have won three-in-a-row, most recently topping Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Saturday, 75-70. WBU forfeited its game with JBU in the first half of conference play due to COVID issues.
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