Men's Basketball Steals Win Over Wayland to Start Season

PLAINVIEW, TEXAS (Oct. 26, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's basketball team opened the season with an 82-80 victory over Wayland Baptist University (WBU) yesterday. The Pioneers received votes in the NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll. 

Head Coach Marcus Thompson said, "I'm beyond proud of this group and how they handled adversity on the road. We were down by 12 or more twice and to battle back is a credit ot the work this group has put in during preseason. It was ugly and dysfunctional in a lot of ways, but we will always take learning from a win! The players really stepped up in big moments and we just thank God for the opportunity!"

History

The Saints were 6-3 against the Pioneers prior to the game. 

Basics

The Pioneers jumped out to a 14-point lead to start the game. The Saints stormed back in the last three minutes of the first half. They drew fouls and were able to take a one-point advantage into halftime. Trey Law had nine points at the half and Rob Gil had three assists. The Saints shot 48.1 percent from the field in the half and hit 4-of-9 three-pointers. 

Wayland opened the second half in similar fashion to the start of the game. They went up 57-49 after the first eight minutes. The Saints inched closer in the following minutes and wree down 66-63 with just over seven minutes left. The Saints eventually led by three points with over one minute remaining and didn't look back. They won 82-80 behind an impressive 51.9 percent shooting from the field. 

Offensive/defensive standouts

Law led the Saints with 15 points. Gil grabbed a team-high six rebounds and eight assists. 

Dylan McDougal led WBU with 17 points. Niko Noumeros had a team-high 11 rebounds. Brett Leach and Noumeros led the squad with five assits each.

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 28-of-54 shooting for 51.9 percent, 5-of-15 from three-point range for 33.3 percent and 21-of-31 from the free-throw line for 67.7 percent. WBU shot 28-of-72 for 38.9 percent, 7-of-22 three pointers for 31.8 percent and 17-of-21 from the free-throw line for 81 percent.

The Saints grabbed 33 rebounds while WBU collected 42.

Up next

The Saints host Southern University at New Orleans on Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m.