Pioneers win 3rd straight over UNT Dallas

Wayland Baptist came out of the gates quickly yet again, setting the table for a big 86-67 Sooner Athletic Conference win over University of North Texas at Dallas on Saturday in Hutcherson Center.

Tedrick Wolfe scored 24 points, D'Michael Bellfield got 20 points and nine rebounds, and Parrish Hewitt logged 15 points and seven assists to lead the Pioneers (13-6, 8-5 SAC). RJ Mason added 10 points for Wayland, whose third-straight win snapped the Trailblazers' (12-5, 10-4) four-game win streak.

Ranked the equivalent of 40^th in the NAIA, Wayland went up 21-5 in the first seven minutes of the game, benefitted by two 3-pointers from Mason. The Trailblazers pulled to within nine, 38-29, with just over two minutes left in the first half, but that's as close as they came.

The Pioneers got a quick-hands bucket by Jaxon Recer after an offensive rebound just before the halftime horn to take a 14-point, 45-31 lead into the break. It was a 12-point game when Wayland scored nine unanswered points, seven by Wolfe including a traditional 3-point play that made it a 21-point game with 16:19 to go.

Wayland made its last big run, an 11-1 spurt, that gave the Pioneers a commanding 34-point lead. Coach Clint Galyean cleared his bench not long after that, and the Trailblazers were able to close the game with 15 unanswered points.

The Pioneers, who beat the Trailblazers on the road in mid-November, 97-85, shot 52 percent (35-of-67) from the field, paced by Bellfield's 9-of-11 effort (82 percent). Wolfe wound up 10-of-16 (63 percent) and Hewitt 6-of-10 (60 percent).

UNT Dallas got 13 points and 12 rebounds from Vernon Johnson and 11 points from Tariq Aman.

The Pioneers will be looking for their first four-game win streak of the season when they take on Mid-America Christian at 7:45 p.m. Thursday in Oklahoma City. The Evangels (8-12, 5-9) defeated Central Christian on Saturday, 82-72, two days after a forfeit loss to No. 3 Langston which followed a fight on Monday in a close loss to Southwestern Christian.

Wayland beat MACU on Dec. 3 in Plainview, 78-68.