Winona Lake, Indiana – The Pioneers came up just short in the 2024 NCCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball National Championship game against the 1-seed Cedarville University, 88-72, ending their postseason run and 2023-24 season.
Wayland Baptist fell behind 7-4 after three minutes of play, but junior forward
Bol Tong knocked down his first 3-pointer of the afternoon to tie the game up at 7. The Pioneers traded threes with the Yellow Jackets, allowing two to fall for Cedarville but getting those two back after
Brett Leach and
Quenton Coleman each drained threes to make it 13-13. The Yellow Jackets proceeded to go on a 9-0 run by hitting three more 3-pointers to make it 22-13.
The Pioneers trailed 26-17 with just under nine minutes until the halftime break, but they cut their five after jumpers by Tong and
Rodney Carson Jr. made it 26-21.
Meikkel Murray converted a 5-0 individual scoring run for the Pioneers after knocking down a jumper with the foul and-one and making another jumper to make it 29-26 Yellow Jackets with just over five minutes until halftime. The Yellow Jackets took a 35-31 lead over Pioneers into the intermission.
The Pioneers opened up the second half with a jolt of energy, getting a three from Leach, a bucket from
D'Michael Bellfield, and another jumper by Leach to tie the game at 38 after two minutes of play. The game got out of hand after this point for the Pioneers after the Yellow Jackets outscored Wayland Baptist 30-9 over the next eight minutes to make it 68-47.
The Pioneers continued to fight as they rattled off a 7-0 run to make it a 68-54 score with eight minutes left in regulation.
Joshua Tucker knocked down a three off the pass from Carson Jr. to make it 72-59 with just over six minutes to go in the game. The Yellow Jackets used one final 14-0 run to put the game away and defeat the Pioneers, 88-72. Cedarville tied an NCCAA Men's Basketball Championship record for threes made in a game with 19 made threes.
Tong finished with a team-high 18 points, 2 rebounds, 3 blocks, 7-11 shooting from the floor, and 3-6 shooting from three. Coleman added 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and shot 3-7 from three. Murray went for 13 points and 4 rebounds in 21+ minutes off the bench.
Tong, a junior forward from Kansas City, was named to the NCCAA All-Tournament Team along with Cedarville University's Chris Rogers and Grant Whisman, Clinton College's Cam Shannon, and Michael DeHorney of SAGU – American Indian College.
The Pioneers reached the NCCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball National Championship game after getting the opening round victory over Asbury University in double overtime after trailing by 18 points in the second half, and a semi-final win over SAGU – American Indian College 64-57.
This was Wayland Baptist's first season as a member of the NCCAA, and the Pioneers first appearance in the NCCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Championship.
