OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Wayland Baptist University (3-0) basketball team traveled to Oklahoma City over the weekend to take part of the Abe Lemons Classic hosted by Oklahoma City University. The Pioneers, who are ranked 18th in the NAIA Preseason poll, collected a pair of wins over Missouri Baptist and (RV) Florida College during the road trip. WBU knocked off Missouri Baptist 81-60 on the first day, and then followed it up by holding off the pesky Florida College squad 77-74.
While the Pioneers did not cruise to a true wire to wire win like they had in the first game of the season, it did not take long for them to take control. A quick 10-0 run turned a 7-2 deficit into a 12-7 lead. Back-to-back baskets by Linton Brown tied the game at 7, and a dunk by Meikkel Murry gave the Pioneers their first lead, and the lead for good. A 19-2 run capped by a Bol Tong jump shot gave Wayland Baptist a 31-11 lead halfway through the first half. Wayland continued to stretch their lead with patient offense and stout defense, and they walked into the locker room with a 49-25 advantage.
A Brown three-pointer gave Wayland a 30-point advantage just three minutes into the second half. Missouri Baptist cut into the lead midway through the second stanza, but a Brown layup put the Pioneers up 73-42 with seven-minute remaining, which tied for their largest lead of the night. A late run trimmed the lead, but the Pioneers never had to question if they would collect their second win of the season.
Wayland was led by Brown with 18 points, while knocking down four three-pointers. Tahjae Hill added 15 points while D'Michael Bellfield chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds. Murray posted 10 points and seven rebounds. Jahvonta Jones and Brett Leach shared game-high rebounding honors with 8 a piece, Jones added nine points while Leach had six.
The Pioneers outscored the Spartans 40-22 in the paint, had a five-point advantage in points off turnovers, and dominated the second chance points. The Pioneers held the Spartans to 36-percent from the floor and 22-percent from beyond the three-point line. Wayland outrebounded Missouri Baptist 46-32
On Saturday, the Pioneers were in a battle back and forth all game long. After falling behind 11-4 early, a quick spurt allowed Wayland Baptist to pull even with Florida College at 13-all. A Brown three-point shot gave the Pioneers their first lead of the game. A see-saw affair saw the first stranglehold be held by the Pioneers after a Hill layup jumpstarted a 15-7 run giving Wayland Baptist a 45-37 lead at the break.
Nearly five minutes into the second half, the Falcons cut the lead to three points after scoring nine of the first 13 points. The rest of the half was back and forth, the Pioneers never stretched the lead over ten points, but it never was cut under three. The game was seemingly over when a small run pushed the Wayland lead to 77-67 with just over two and a half minutes remaining. But an experienced Falcons squad kept battling. A few untimely turnovers and some clutch baskets by the Falcons closed the lead to just three points. Florida College had a shot to tie it at the buzzer, after a shot from ¾ court gave them the win the night before. However, a strong contest by Angel Smith forced the shot to be short and giving the Pioneers the win.
Wayland Baptist had several contributions throughout the game. Murray had his first double-double in a Pioneer uniform with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Hill led the Pioneers in scoring with 20 points while also snagging six rebounds. Brown added 17 points, while Leach also grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Pioneers shot worse from the floor, and from three-point range. However, they dominated with 13 extra rebounds, including 26 offensive rebounds. The game featured six ties, and seven lead changes.
Wayland Baptist will be back in action this Thursday, November 9 when they take on Our Lady of the Lake University.
