Plainview, Texas – Senior
D'Michael Bellfield went for 22 points and
Meikkel Murray added 16 points as the Pioneers knock off John Brown University (12-9, 10-6 SAC) at home in a huge Sooner Athletic Conference game.
Wayland Baptist (16-6, 11-6 SAC) got off to a quick 6-0 start over the Golden Eagles after
Quentin Coleman drilled a jumper, and Murray scored two layups with the second one coming from an offensive board. JBU responded quickly by converting a couple of layups to take a 12-11 lead just over five minutes into the contest. With just over eleven minutes left in the half and the Pioneers trailing 17-16, Bellfield scored a layup off a dime from
Quentin Coleman and Hill drained a 3-pointer to put the Pioneers up 21-17.
The Golden Eagles regained the lead 24-23, but Murray snatched the ball and went up for a huge dunk and finished a layup the very next possession to put the Pioneers up 27-24. After a JBU missed jumper,
Brett Leach grabbed the offensive rebound and pushed the ball down the floor to
Joshua Tucker for a smooth layup to give the Pioneers a 5-point lead and force JBU to call a quick timeout. The Pioneers got a Hill jumper with under a minute remaining to take a 35-27 lead into the halftime break.
The Pioneers began the second half with two quick buckets by Bellfield to make it a 39-27 lead just under two minutes into the half. After the Golden Eagles hit a 3-pointer just under five minutes into the half, the Pioneers answered back with a layup by Bellfield and a 3-pointers by Hill to extend their lead to 13-points. With just over ten minutes remaining in regulation, Murray was able to finish a tough layup off the dish from
Jaxon Recer to give the Pioneers a 14-point lead, their largest lead of the game.
The Golden Eagles were able to convert a successful 3-pointer to trim their deficit to 9 points, but Bellfield continued to dominate inside by cleaning up the offensive boards and finishing the putback layup to push the Pioneer lead to 63-52 with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation. Including that bucket by Bellfield, the 6'9, 280-pound senior scored the next six points for the Pioneers to push their lead to 67-55 with just over four minutes left in the contest. Free throws by Coleman and Hill in the minute put the game on ice, and the Pioneers defeated John Brown 75-62 to win their third straight Sooner Athletic Conference game.
D'Michael Bellfield went for 22 points, 6 rebounds, and finished a perfect 11-11 from the floor.
Meikkel Murray added 16 points and 6 rebounds.
Tahjae Hill went for 15 points, 2 assists, and 3-7 from 3-point range.
Quentin Coleman scored 14 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and had 4 assists.
The Pioneers will look to extend their conference win streak with another home matchup against Texas Wesleyan University (8-13, 6-9 SAC). Tip is set for 8:00 PM on Thursday night at the Hutcherson Center.
