Plainview, TX – As the regular season is quickly coming to an end, every game is important in determining the final standings in the conference race. The Pioneers, coming off a road trip in which they lost two games, hosted Southwestern Christian Thursday night. Wayland Baptist came away with a 89-63 win to take over sole possession of third place in the SAC standings.
The Pioneers played a near flawless first half in which they held Southwestern Christian to 30% from the field, caused eleven turnovers, outrebounded the Eagles 28-11, including grabbing sixteen offensive rebounds and had fourteen assists on nineteen made baskets, leading to a 49-19 lead after the first twenty minutes of play.
Southwestern Christian shot better in the second half and outscored the Pioneers 44-40, but Wayland Baptist came away with the 26-point victory. The Pioneers outrebounded the Eagles 47-26, including a 22-6 advantage on the offensive boards and held a 27-14 advantage on assists.
Brett Leach scored a career high 29 points for Wayland Baptist, making 7 of 11 shots from the behind the 3-point line. Leach also contributed 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.
Niko Noumeros and
Kabine Kaba both had double-doubles for WBU. Noumeros scored 16 points and added 10 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Kaba scored 12 points along with a game-high 12 rebounds. Kaba also had 3 blocked shots and an assist.
Dylan McDougal was the fourth Pioneer to score in double figures, as he scored 11 points and played great defense on the Eagles' best offensive player.
Quenton Coleman added 7 points and 5 assists and
James Lee pitched in with 6 points and a game high 8 assists.
Jaxon Recer scored 5 points and nabbed 7 rebounds.
Joshua Tucker scored 3 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and had 2 steals.
The Pioneers host Oklahoma City University Saturday at 4:00 PM at the Hutcherson Center.
