Second half runs lift Wayland Baptist over Grizzlies
LUBBOCK, Texas— The Wayland Baptist University Pioneers used a 15-3 run to begin the second half while holding the Adams State College Grizzlies to a 7-for-24 (24.1 percent) shooting effort in the second period as they expanded a 3-point halftime lead into a 72-45 win on Friday during first day action of Lubbock Christian University's Chap Classic in the Rip Griffin Center.
The Plainview, Texas based team, which was receiving votes in the latest NAIA National Ratings (Dec. 14), improved to 6-3 with its third straight win. The Grizzlies, who were held to a season-low 45 points and to a season-low 30.8 percent (16 of 52) overall shooting effort, slipped to 5-5.
Senior Clifton Clarida led the Pioneers with a game-high 17 points thanks in large part to his 4-for-5 effort from 3-point territory. Junior guard Kendall Webb, the team’s leading scorer with a 20.8 point per game average coming in, added 13 points while junior forward Pedro Montano grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Grizzlies were paced by 14 Greg Baker (Lewisville, Texas) points and a season-high nine rebounds from Richard Mincey (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
ASC got off to a good start taking a 9-3 lead after a 9-0 run that featured all five of Marcus Mortensen’s (Cortez, Colo.) points. WBU came back to tie the game at 11 on a Nate Bridges 3-pointer before ASC went up 17-11 with a 6-0 spurt triggered by a pair of Baker buckets.
The rest of the half was nip-and-tuck with neither team leading by more than four before a Webb 3-pointer broke a 28-28 deadlock with 1:33 to go in the period.
Leading 33-30 at the break, the Pioneers would hold ASC to just one Tony Danielson (Denver, Colo.) in the first 10-plus minutes of the second half as they took a 51-36 lead on a Kris Hatley 3-ball.
The Grizzlies would cut the deficit to 12 on a pair of occasions before the Pioneers finished the game, ASC’s worst loss of the season, on another 17-2 run.
The schools were playing against each other for the first time in ASC’s NCAA Division II history (1992-Present).
The host Chaps defeated Sul Ross State 88-85 in the second game of the tournament.
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