GOODWELL, Okla. - The Aggie men's basketball team battled for their second straight conference victory and third of the season against the Wayland Baptist Pioneers with a final score of 73-71. Rayquan Elliott and Jalen Thomas were once again at the forefront of the Aggie offense as they both totaled fifteen points against the Pioneers. 

Head Coach Mark Laird would complement the focus and intensity of the Aggies. Saying "we did a great job of executing our game plan tonight! We wanted to focus on winning the battle on the boards and limiting our mistakes. We held them to six offensive rebounds and only committed a season-low nine turnovers. But even more than that…we just went out and made plays on defense when it mattered most."

As the Aggies and Pioneers, both started red hot out of the gates in the first half. Creating the makings of a good old-fashioned Texas-Oklahoma shootout. Rodrigo Cristo would start the Aggies off by blocking a Pioneer shot and dropping back-to-back threes. The Aggies and the Pioneers would battle back and forth throughout the entire first half. The three-point threat from the Pioneers allowed them to combat the Aggies' onslaught in the paint. Elliott and Thomas set the tone early by not only drawing fouls in the paint but also taking one for the team and drawing charges. Sending them to the free-throw line multiple times to even the score up at 36 apiece at the end of the first half. 

The second half did not lag behind the first. Both teams once again came out firing on all cylinders trying to hold on to the lead. The defensive effort for rebounds and steals allowed the Aggies to keep the Pioneers at bay in the half. DK Sumo and Alfred Alkannama both have multiple steals in the contests that would result in Aggie points. This seemed to be a point of emphasis for the Aggies as they had eleven points off turnovers in the game. Another key element in the Aggie win was their intentions on getting to the free-throw line. Doing so twenty-two times against the Pioneers. The Aggies held off a late push from the Pioneers with two dagger threes from Auston Chatman and Rodrigo Cristo to seal the game, 

The Aggies return to action Tuesday, December 14th in Alva, Oklahoma against Northwestern Oklahoma State University for an exhibition match before returning home December 15th to face Northern New Mexico College at 4 PM.