Plainview, Texas – The 23
rd ranked Pioneers used an excellent shooting night to easily handle Oklahoma Panhandle State University (4-10, 2-8 SAC) on Tuesday night in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup at the Hutch.
Wayland Baptist (12-4, 7-3 SAC) and the Aggies were trading baskets for the first five minutes of the game, but
Bol Tong hit his first of three 3-pointers to give the Pioneers a 15-9 lead. The Pioneers defensive intensity picked up as they forced two steals resulting in back-to-back dunks by
Meikkel Murray and Tong, extending the Pioneer lead to 19-9 with just over thirteen minutes remaining until halftime. This sequence was all a part of an 18-0 run that gave the Pioneers a 28-9 lead with just over ten minutes until the break. With a 37-21 lead with just over five minutes remaining until the halftime intermission, the Pioneers rattled off three straight possessions resulting in 3-pointers by
Tahjae Hill,
Linton Brown, and Tong. This gave the Pioneers a 46-21 cushion before the break. The Pioneers took a 53-26 lead into the halftime break against the conference foe Aggies.
The Pioneers came out firing in the second half as they hit their first four shots including three 3-pointers by
Linton Brown. With just over twelve minutes remaining in the game, Tong would hit another 3-pointer to give the Pioneers a 43-point lead, which was the largest lead of the game. The Pioneers went on to finish the game with a score of 93-54 to give them their seventh conference win of the season.
The Pioneer defense was able to force the Aggies into 22 turnovers on the night resulting in 24 points for the Pioneers. Wayland Baptist only turned the ball over 10 times and added 20 assists as a team. The Pioneers also went 14-29 from 3-point range as a team while forcing the Aggies to shoot 27.8% from deep. The Pioneers outrebounded the Aggies 37-29 and Wayland Baptist was able to grab 14 offensive rebounds resulting in 17 second chance points.
The Pioneers were led tonight by
Linton Brown who dropped 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and shot 5-10 from 3-point range.
Quentin Coleman added 16 points, 3 rebounds, and shot 4-8 from 3-point range.
D'Michael Bellfield finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds to cap off the double-double.
Bol Tong added 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, and shot 3-4 from 3-point range.
Meikkel Murray contributed 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The 23rd ranked Wayland Baptist Pioneers will take on Central Christian College (7-8, 4-5 SAC) on Thursday night at the Hutcherson Center. The game is set to tip off at 8:00 PM.
