Plainview, TX. – The road trip continues for the USW Mens Basketball team against opponents ranked in the top 25 as they continue their non-conference schedule for the 2018-19 season.
The Mustangs played the 20th ranked team in the nation, the Wayland Pioneers, close throughout the game, but the Pioneers were able to outlast the Mustangs who were within 8 points of the Pioneers (61-69) in the final 7:46 minutes of the game to pull away to a 92-73 victory.
The Mustangs (1-5) played well in the 1st half and kept pace with the 20th ranked Pioneers until the 5:56 mark and the score at 29-21, when Wayland finished the first half with a 12-8 run to lead by 12 points going into halftime to lead 41-29. Wayland dominated the boards holding a 23-12 rebounding advantage and scoring 8 points on second chance points. The Mustangs shot 41 percent from the field and 22 percent from 3FG, while Wayland shot 51 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3FG.
Wayland led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but the Mustangs continued to chip away at the lead to get it as close as 6 points with 15:41 remaining. Both teams traded baskets back and forth with the lead never getting larger than 8 points until the 7:46 mark when Wayland would extend its second-half lead as they reeled off 8 straight points to extend its lead to 16 points to put the game out of reach as they close out the Mustangs 92-73
The Mustangs had 3 players in double figures, as
Josh Harris scored 20 points on 8-15 shooting, and
Emmanuel McNeil who missed USW's last two games, came back to score 14 points.
Rontrell Hills came off the bench and scored 12 points, all in the second half.
Wayland (4-0) had big advantages in rebounding (39-26), points in the paint (48-34) and second-chance points (14-6). The Pioneers (4-0) were also more accurate with their shooting as they connected on 55 percent of their field goals while the Mustangs hit 50 percent for the game.
The Mustangs return to action Friday and Saturday (7 p.m. CT/6 p.m. MT) to wrap up their 9 game road stretch, when they play exhibition games at NCAA DII opponents Ft Lewis College and New Mexico Highlands. The game can be seen on and heard on each schools respective websites. The Mustangs return home for their season opener on November 19th for a rematch against Sciences and Arts (Oklahoma) at 7pm.
