Story By Eric Montgomery | Media Coordinator
Photos courtesy of Referee Photo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box Score) No. 7-seeded Wayland Baptist (Texas) held No. 2-seeded Central Methodist (Mo.) to its lowest point total of the season to post a 68-44 victory and advance to the second round of the 81st Annual NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship, Wednesday evening at Municipal Auditorium. The Pioneers will play No. 6-seeded Life (Ga.), a 68-67 winner over William Carey (Miss.), on Friday, March 16 at 2:15 p.m. CDT.
NOTES
- Wayland Baptist improved its season record to 24-9
- Xavier ends its season with a record of 27-6
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Trevonta Robertson led all scorers with 23 points for Wayland Baptist on 8 of 10 shooting
- Tyrone Davis added 14 points and five rebounds for the Pioneers, while Samuel Kalwanyi added 10 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots
- Terrance Bush was the only Central Methodist player in double figures with 15 points, hitting three shots from beyond the arc
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Wayland Baptist dominated the game in the paint, posting a 36-16 advantage inside
- Leading by seven at halftime (31-24), the Pioneers scored the first eight points of the second half and never led by less than 10 the rest of the game
- Central Methodist scored just 20 points in the second half, shooting 6 of 27 (.222) from the field
- The Eagles recorded two field goals over the final 11 minutes of the game
HOW THEY SAW IT
- Central Methodist head coach Jeff Sherman – “Wayland Baptist played a phenomenal ball game. They came out and executed a game plan, and it was a disappointing way for us to finish the season after having such a nice year.”
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Wayland Baptist had just six offensive rebounds, but converted them into 11 second chance points while allowing just five on nine offensive boards for Central Methodist
- The Pioneers shot 56.0 percent (14 of 25) in the second half and forced 18 turnovers
GAME NOTES:
Wayland Baptist
Wayland Baptist improved to 10-17 all-time in the national championship, including 7-11 in the opening round … The first round win was the first for the Pioneers since 2008, a 89-85 triumph over Martin Methodist (Tenn.) … Wayland Baptist improved to 9-5 against teams in this season’s 32-team field.
Central Methodist
Central Methodist fell to 4-3 all-time in the first round, making its first national championship appearance since 2010 … After averaging 81.5 points per game, Central Methodist finished the season scoring 51 and 44 points in back-to-back losses … The 44 points was the fewest scored in a national championship tournament game since Texas Wesleyan knocked off Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.), 74-44, in the 2012 event.
