Langston, Oklahoma – Wayland Baptist and Langston faced off in a huge Sooner Athletic Conference game Thursday night. WBU entered the contest with a 10-3 conference record while Langston sat at 9-2, so the winner would sit atop the conference standings. Wayland Baptist led 28-24 after the first twenty minutes of play, but Langston outscored the Pioneers 46-29 in the second half to come away with a 70-57 win.
Both teams played outstanding defense in the first half as the Pioneers held the Lions to 29.6% shooting (8/27) from the field, while the Pioneers made 8 of 22 shots (36.4%). Wayland Baptist held their largest lead of the game, ten points, at the 7:31 mark of the first half.
The teams tied the score six times and the lead changed hands five times in the contest, but Langston eventually took control in the second half. They scored twenty-four points in the paint and scored twelve points off turnovers. The Lions took their largest lead, thirteen points, with 10:28 remaining in the game and regained that same lead with 32 seconds left in the game.
Niko Noumeros led the Pioneers in scoring with 10 points, but was followed closely by
Brett Leach with 9 points. Four WBU players,
Kabine Kaba,
James Lee,
Quenton Coleman and
Julian Perez chipped in 7 points each.
Dylan McDougal scored 6 points and
Adeola Seun scored 4.
Kabine Kaba led the way on the boards with 8 rebounds followed by
James Lee with 4. Leach and Noumeros each had 3 rebounds. Lee led the team with 2 assists and 2 steals.
The Pioneers continue their road trip Saturday when they take on Central Christian College in McPherson, Kansas at 4:00 PM.
