PLAINVIEW, TEXAS -- The Oklahoma City University men's basketball team continued its road trip with a journey out west suffering an 85-68 setback at Wayland Baptist on Thursday night (Feb. 1) inside the Hutcherson Center.  

With the loss, the Stars fall to 5-16 overall and 3-12 in Sooner Athletic play. Wayland Baptist moves to 15-6 overall and 10-5 in conference play holding down the fourth spot in the SAC standings.  

Oklahoma City was led in the game by senior Brandon Jackson with 14 points. Junior Sam Taulapiu went 4-for-4 from the line and tied a season-high with 10 points while reaching the mark for the second time in the last four games while sophomores' Avery Jackson and Jack McWilliams each scored nine points apiece, with McWilliams nabbing eight of the Stars 32 rebounds. 

For Wayland Baptist, Tahjae Hill shot 4-of-6 from three to tie a game-high 17 points with Meikkel Murray who shot 8-of-13 from the field. Brett Leach and Rodney Carson Jr rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Pioneers with Leach notching 13 points and six rebounds while Carson Jr racked up 12 points on a 5-for-7 clip. 

Tied up at 18 all with 11:18 to play after a three by Nick Bonifay, Wayland Baptist ran off on a 20-4 run over the next five minutes. The Pioneers finished off the period with a three from Leach to stretch out its lead to as much as 19.  

In the second half, Oklahoma City cut it to as little as 15 points on a pair of free throws from Avery Jackson, but the Pioneers maintained a solid lead without allowing the Stars to come any closer. The margin would balloon to as many as 23 points in the second half before the hosts closed out the evening with an 85-68 victory.  

Oklahoma City shot 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) from downtown with Nick Bonifay and Avery Jackson sinking twp threes each.  

Beau Tranter made his first career start for OCU as the freshman scored seven points while shooting 1-of-3 from range.  

Oklahoma City continues its road trip on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 3) when it takes on Oklahoma Panhandle State inside Anchor D Arena in Goodwell. The game is set for a 3:45 p.m. start and will be carried live on the SAC Sports Network.