Dallas, Texas –
Meikkel Murray goes for 24 to lead the Pioneers to a huge road win at the University of North Texas at Dallas to maintain their tie for 3
rd in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings with one game to go.
Wayland Baptist (20-7, 15-6 SAC) fell behind 8-2 in the first two and a half minutes of the game, but a quick 4-0 run by Murray made it an 8-6 score. After falling down 13-10, Rodney Carson Jr made a layup through contact, and
Tahjae Hill knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Pioneers a 15-13 lead. After almost nine minutes of play, Bellfield cleaned up a missed Pioneer 3-pointer for a putback layup to tie the game at 18.
With just over eight minutes until the halftime break, Bellfield was able to score a bucket through contact for an and-one – making the score 26-20 in favor of the Pioneers. Murray would go on to score the next 6 points for the Pioneers over a four-minute span to make it 32-28, Pioneers. With just over two minutes until the intermission, Bellfield was able to knock down a couple of free throws after grabbing an offensive rebound from a missed free throw and going back up through contact. With just under a minute left in the half,
Bol Tong knocked down a 3-pointer off the feed from Carson Jr. to give the Pioneers a 41-34 lead at the break.
The Pioneers began the second half on a 7-0 that started with buckets by Murray and
Brett Leach and was capped off by a 3-pointer from
Quentin Coleman off the pass from Bellfield. Coleman knocked down another jumper just over five minutes into the half to give the Pioneers a 52-36 lead. With just over nine minutes left in regulation, Hill attacked the paint for a bucket to put the Pioneer lead at 60-46.
The Trailblazers wouldn't go away after cutting their deficit to 7 points, 68-61. Coleman would answer with a 3-pointer to make it a 71-61 game with just over four minutes remaining. UNTD went on a 7-0 run to trim the Pioneer lead to just 3 points, but Hill answered that run with a 3-pointer to make it 74-68. After making it 74-73, Coleman hit a clutch jumper with just under a minute left to give the Pioneers a 3-point advantage. The Trailblazers hit a wide-open shot in the corner with just under thirty seconds remaining, but the shooter's feet were on the line, and it was only a two-point basket. This made the game 76-75 and forced the Trailblazers to foul Coleman where he knocked down both free throws and sealed the victory for the Pioneers, 78-75.
Meikkel Murray finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and he shot 11-13 from the floor including two clutch and-ones down the stretch.
Tahjae Hill added 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 3-7 from 3-point range.
Quentin Coleman went for 12 points on 4-8 shooting, and 2-4 from 3-point range.
D'Michael Bellfield scored 11 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, had 2 assists, and 2 steals.
The Pioneers will battle 25
th ranked SAGU on Saturday to determine who is going to be the 3
rd overall seed in the conference tournament with the loser claiming the 4
th seed. Tip is set for Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM in Waxahachie, Texas.
