Waxahachie, Texas – The Pioneers comeback attempt fell just short on the road at 25
th ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God University (21-8, 17-6 SAC) on Saturday afternoon to wrap up their regular season and set them up to host the opening round of the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament.
Wayland Baptist (20-9, 15-8 SAC) began the game on an 8-0 run that began with
Brett Leach sinking a 3-pointer off the pass from
D'Michael Bellfield and finished with Bellfield scoring the next 4 points for the Pioneers. The Lions stormed back and took an 11-10 lead, but Leach attacked the paint for a layup to give the Pioneers a 12-11 lead. With the Pioneers down 18-12 nearly seven minutes into the game,
Tahjae Hill drained a corner 3-pointer to make it 18-15. Bellfield then threw down a huge dunk at the 12-minute mark to trim the Pioneer deficit to just one point. After a Lion bucket made it 22-19, Hill drained another 3-pointer to tie the game up at 22.
The Lions hit a 3-pointer with just under nine minutes until the halftime break, but
Quentin Coleman answered back with a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game at 29. With the game tied at 31, Leach attacked the bucket and missed the layup, but
Jaxon Recer followed it up with a putback slam to give the Pioneers a 33-31 lead. The Lions were able to build an 8-point lead with just under two minutes left in the half. Bellfield scored in the paint with just over a minute left, but the Lions knocked down a jumper with just a few seconds on the clock to give SAGU a 47-39 lead at the halftime break.
The Pioneers got the scoring started in the second half after Hill knocked down a jumper to trim their deficit to 6 points. Two minutes into the second half, Bellfield swatted a Lions layup and scored at the other end to make it a 51-44 game in favor of the Lions. With the score at 55-46, Leach drained another 3-pointer to trim the Pioneer deficit to 55-49. Leach scored another layup five minutes into the half to keep the Pioneers within striking distance. The Lions followed the Leach Bucket with a 7-0 run to extend their lead up to 14. The Lions created a Pioneer turnover and scored at the other end to give them a 17-point lead, their largest of the game, with just under twelve minutes remaining.
The Pioneers continued to fight back as
Meikkel Murray threw down a two-handed slam to trim their deficit down to 12 points with just under seven minutes left in regulation. At the six-minute mark, Bellfield finished a strong layup after being taken out down low for the huge and-one to cut the Lion lead down to just 10 points. With just under three minutes remaining in regulation, Coleman drilled a 3-pointer and finished a tough layup to trim the Lions lead to just 7 points. With just under a minute remaining in regulation, Murray scored a bucket inside to make it 95-91 in favor of SAGU. Unfortunately, the Lions converted on their free throw attempts and won this battle, 99-92.
D'Michael Bellfield finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and shot 9-12 from the floor.
Quentin Coleman added 23 points and 3 rebounds.
Brett Leach went for 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, shooting 50% from the floor and 3-6 from 3-point range.
Meikkel Murray finished with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and shot 5-7 from the floor.
Tahjae Hill added 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
With the loss to SAGU today, the Pioneers secured fourth overall in the Sooner Athletic Conference Standings – meaning they will host the University of Science and Arts (Okla.) in the opening round of the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament. The Pioneers took both games against USAO in the regular season – winning on the road 86-77 and winning at home 93-80.
The Pioneers will host the University of Science and Arts (Okla.) (19-9, 14-8 SAC) on Thursday night at the Hutcherson Center. Tip is scheduled for 8:00 PM.
