Butte, Montana – The Pioneers battled the host 3-seed Orediggers of Montana Tech University on Friday night in the opening round of the 2024 Men's NAIA National Tournament, but they suffered a tough defeat in the final few minutes, 75-67, to conclude their 2023-24 season.
After falling behind 15-6 in the first five minutes of the game, Wayland Baptist was able to battle back early after
D'Michael Bellfield finished a tough layup followed by a
Quenton Coleman three off the pass from
Rodney Carson Jr. to make it 15-11 in favor of Montana Tech. With the Pioneers trailing by four after almost 8 minutes of action,
Meikkel Murray went on a personal 4-0 run to tie the game at 17 capped off by a jumper from the top of the key.
The Pioneers took a 23-17 lead with ten minutes until the halftime break after Coleman hit back-to-back three, including a tough step-back three from the corner. Montana Tech then went on an 8-0 run to take a 25-23 lead over the Pioneers with just over eight minutes until halftime. Bellfield cleaned up the offensive glass for the Pioneers for the putback layup to tie the game at 25 apiece. With the Orediggers holding a 33-30 lead with just under three minutes until halftime,
Tahjae Hill was able to attack the paint for the bucket to make it a one-point game. Montana Tech hit two free throws before the end of the half to take a 37-34 lead into the intermission.
Bellfield got the Pioneers going quickly in the second half with a bucket, but Montana Tech resonded immediately to keep the Pioneer deficit at 3. Montana Tech pushed their lead to 52-44 with just over eleven minutes left in regulation, but a layup by Bellfield and a successful and-one conversion for Murray cut the score to 52-49 in favor of the Orediggers.
Wayland Baptist fell behind 66-52 with six minutes remaining in regulation, but refused to go away after Coleman made a tough layup to cut their deficit to 12 points. With just over three minutes left in the game, Coleman scored a difficult layup through contact for the and-one to make it a 69-59 Montana Tech lead. Murray cleaned up the offensive glass and scored a putback layup to make it a 71-65 game with just under a minute remaining, but the Pioneers were unable to complete the comeback and suffered the First Round defeat to Montana Tech, 75-67.
Coleman went for 19 points, 3 rebounds, and 3-7 shooting from 3-point range. Bellfield added a double-double, tallying 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 steals. Murray tacked on 13 points and 3 rebounds on 6-14 shooting. Hill finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2-5 shooting from 3-point range.
The Pioneers finished with an overall record of 21 wins and 10 losses, including a 15-7 record in Sooner Athletic Conference play this season.
