Waxahachie, Texas – The No. 14-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels made a big push in the second half to rally from a double-digit deficit, but the Wayland Baptist University Pioneers made the key plays down the stretch to win 92-87 tonight (Mar. 4) in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals on the campus of Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas.
The win moves Wayland Baptist into the SAC championship game tomorrow night (Mar. 5) against USAO, who upset top-seeded Texas Wesleyan University.
The Pioneers had taken control midway through the first half and led by as much as 16 at the 8:03 mark before the Evangels ended the stanza on a 16-8 run to cut the deficit in half to 44-36 at the break.
After WBU opened the second half strong and stretched the lead back to 16 with 14:24 remaining, the Evangels began their charge back.
Bryon Miller sparked a 10-0 spurt with six points and following a three by the Pioneers' Robert Waters, a three-point play by Devante Moore and a trey from Miller capped another run of 10 straight points that put the Evangels on top for the first time since the 16:58 mark of the first half at 70-69 with 8:06 left.
From that point, there were seven lead changes over the next four minutes until the Pioneers took the lead for good with a 7-0 run that resulted in an 88-82 lead with 1:53 left.
The Evangels refused to go quietly and came back within one as a three by Devonse Reed and two free throws from Jerrick Massenburge with 55 seconds left made it 88-87.
But a big three by Waters extended the lead back to two possessions and the Pioneers held the Evangels scoreless the rest of the way.
Miller led the Evangels with 20 points along with eight rebounds, with Malcolm Mann and Chris Runnels each scoring 15. Mann also had eight boards and Reed chipped in with 14 points.
Jordan Tolbert scored a game-high 25 points along with five assists for the Pioneers and Maurice Redmond added 15. Marshall Nelson scored 14 and Waters had 11 points. Anietie Jack also scored in double-figures with 10 points for WBU.
MACU controlled the interior, outscoring the Pioneers 44-28 in the paint, but WBU held the advantage beyond the arc, hitting 11-of-24 from three-point distance compared to six-of-25 for the Evangels.
The Evangels, now 23-9 on the season under first-year head coach Josh Gamblin, will now await their fate for the NAIA National Tournament.
MACU is expected to receive an at-large bid to the tourney after finishing second in the SAC. The NAIA tournament selection show is set for Wednesday evening (Mar. 9) at 6 p.m.
