McPherson, Kansas –
Tahjae Hill went for 25 points and
Brett Leach added 17 as the Pioneers dominated Central Christian College (12-13, 9-10) on Saturday afternoon in McPherson, Kansas.
Wayland Baptist (19-7, 14-6 SAC) got off to a 6-0 lead to begin the game after
Quentin Coleman attacked the paint for the bucket, Hill converted a layup after getting a steal, and
Meikkel Murray attacked the paint for the bucket. After Central Christian hit two free throws to make the score 6-2, Hill went on a 7-0 scoring by himself, including a 3-pointer off the assist from Coleman, to make it a 13-2 Pioneer lead almost five minutes into the game. With the Pioneers holding a 14-point advantage almost eight minutes into the game,
Bol Tong knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the Pioneer lead to 23-6. At the 10-minute mark of the first half and the Pioneers leading 28-9, Murray was able to clean up the offensive boards for a putback bucket to make it 30-9.
With just over nine minutes until the halftime break,
D'Michael Bellfield cleaned up the offensive boards for the Pioneers and finished the putback layup to make it 32-11. The Pioneers were able to take a 36-18 lead with just over five minutes until the intermission after Hill snagged the defensive rebound, pushed the ball up the floor, and knocked down a jumper. After Central Christian knocked down a couple of free throws,
Joshua Tucker received the pass from Tong and knocked down the 3-point shot to extend the Pioneer lead to 39-20. After Tucker's 3-pointer, Tong went on a personal 6-0 run by draining back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Wayland Baptist lead up to twenty-five points. Hill drained another 3-pointer, and
Jahvonta Jones sunk a couple of free throws to make it a 50-26 Pioneer lead at the halftime break.
Hill continued his solid scoring afternoon by getting a quick jumper to fall to begin the second half and make it 52-26 lead for the Pioneers. After two more successful Tiger free throws, Leach was able to attack the paint for the bucket to answer back for the Pioneers. After five minutes into the second half and a twenty-eight-point lead for the Pioneers, Hill drained his fourth 3-pointer of the afternoon to make it a 63-32 advantage. The Pioneers then took a 70-37 lead after
Jaxon Recer cleaned up the offensive boards and scored the putback layup, and Leach drained another 3-pointer off the pass from Coleman.
With just over ten minutes left in regulation, the Pioneers offense continued to dominate as they got buckets from
Rodney Carson Jr. and Tong off an offensive rebound putback to make it a 79-40 lead. Murray then went on to score the next two baskets for the Pioneers to give them a 39-point lead with just under nine minutes left to play. With just over six minutes left and the Pioneers leading 88-52, Leach would stay on the attack by getting to the free throw line for two successful attempts, then he would score a layup through contact on the following possession for an and-one. Leach capped off an 8-0 personal scoring run with a 3-pointer off the assist from Coleman to make it 96-52. With just under four minutes remaining, Jones was able to clean up the offensive boards for a putback layup to give the Pioneers a 100-58 lead.
Hudson Sackett drained a 3-pointer off the pass from Carson Jr., pushing the Pioneer lead to 105-60. The Pioneers finished off Central Christian by the score of 105-64 to continue their push to host the first round of the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament at the Hutcherson Center.
Tahjae Hill finished with 25 points, 2 rebounds, shooting 9-12 from the floor and 4-6 from 3-point range.
Brett Leach scored 17 points, 5 rebounds, on 6-8 shooting and 2-3 from beyond the arc.
Bol Tong added 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, shooting 5-10 from the floor and 3-6 from 3-point range in 20 minutes off the bench.
Meikkel Murray added 12 points and 4 rebounds, while he shot 5-7 from the floor.
The Pioneers as a team shot 68.3 % from the floor, 57.9% from 3-point range, and 85.7% from the free throw line.
Wayland Baptist will look to finish the regular season on a positive note with one more road trip scheduled before conference tournament action. They will hit the road to Dallas, Texas as they will face-off against the University of North Texas at Dallas on Thursday night. Tip is set for 8:00 PM.
