Plainview, Texas – January 21, 2017- The Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) men’s basketball team topped Wayland Baptist University 66-60. With the win, the Lions (16-4, 6-2 SAC) are now in first place in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC), knocking Wayland Baptist (13-7, 5-3 SAC) down to third place.
“We won our second game in a row as a result of defense, rebounding and timely execution on offense down the stretch,” explains head coach Donnie Bostwick , “It’s hard to explain sometimes after a game the exact truth to the result. I will just say things fell into place in an unusually favorable manner all week.”
SAGU started the game off with a bang. The first possession of the game, Lance Tipton made a three pointer. Shortly after, Adrian Palacios came up big with five quick points to give SAGU the 8-0 lead. The Lions held the lead for much of the first half. WBU did make a run and tied the game at 30 at halftime.
Early in the second half, WBU was able to take the lead form SAGU. With 14:41 left in the game, WBU’s Maurice Redmond sunk two free throws to extend the Pioneers lead 40-33. That didn’t last long, and within three minutes, SAGU was back on top after Isaak Rowe made a basket.
With 3:52 left in the game, Maurice Redmond hit a well-timed three pointer to come within two, 60-58, however SAGU was just too strong to overcome. In the end, they topped WBU 66-60.
SAGU was led by Adrian Palacios with 14 points. He also added two steals. Keyunta Watkins scored 13 points and seven rebounds.
WBU’s JJ Culver came off the bench to lead all-scorers. He had 18 points.
Bostwick mentioned that the game may have been won by defense. WBU had the edge of both three point shooting percentage and free throws. SAGU out rebounded WBU 46-33.
The Lions will have a chance to revenge an early SAC loss to Texas Wesleyan University. SAGU will host TWU on Thursday, January 26 th at 8pm.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]
