EL RENO, Okla. –
Tedrick Wolfe and
Reece Spencer led five double-digit scorers, and Wayland Baptist hung tough down the stretch to secure its ninth straight Sooner Athletic Conference win, 90-84 over Oklahoma City University Thursday evening.
Wayland (19-6, 14-5 SAC) led by 13 points with four minutes to play and by 11, 77-66, with three to play, but OCU (12-12, 10-8) made a furious comeback, pulling to within 84-81 with 37 seconds left.
The Pioneers won it at the free-throw line, hitting all six of their free throws – four by Spencer and two by Wolfe – down the stretch. OCU, meanwhile, fell short after a missed 3-pointer and a steal by WBU's
Jaxon Recer on its last possession.
The win avenged an 88-82 loss to the Stars in Plainview Jan. 7.
WBU's nine-game win streak is the longest for the program since the Pioneers won that same number to open the 2004-05 season. The Pioneers also won nine in a row during the 1999-2000 and 1992-93 campaigns.
The team's current streak is the longest since the 1990-91 season when Wayland won a dozen straight near the end of a 29-4 campaign under head coach Rick Cooper.
Wolfe ended with 25 points and Spencer came off the bench for 20 while
Parrish Hewitt put up a dozen points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double since the opening two games of the season.
D'Michael Bellfield added 11 points and
RJ Mason 10.
WBU made 28-of-38 free throws (74 percent), including 22-of-25 (88 percent) in the second half. Wolfe was perfect on his seven attempts while Spencer was 10-of-12 at the stripe.
The game featured 68 total free throws as OCU hit 25-of-30. The teams combined for only seven 3-pointers (WBU 4-of-16, OCU 3-of-23).
The Stars were led in scoring by Dravon Clayborn's 21 points and Avery Jackson's 20. Kori Guest secured a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Wayland held a 53-43 rebounding edge.
The game was held at The Pit at Redlands Community College due to facility issues at OCU.
The Pioneers aim for their 10
th straight win at 3:45 p.m. Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark., against John Brown (9-15, 7-11), a team Wayland beat 78-54 on Jan. 5 in Plainview. The Golden Eagles edged Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Thursday, 70-67.
