Eagles Tie Program Win Record With Late Rally Against Mustangs

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (2/19/26) – The Williams Baptist University men's basketball team tied the record for wins in a season after rallying late to take down Central Baptist 81-71 inside the Southerland-Mabee Center on Thursday night.

The victory was WBU's 20th of the year, tying the record for the most wins in a season set in 1987-88.  

Deion Wesson led the way on offense for the Eagles with 24 points and a perfect 10-of-10 mark from the free throw line.  Jesse Washington followed with 22 points and a team-high five assists.  Aseem Luckey and Benjamin Noonan both followed up with 12.  Luckey led the team on the glass with nine rebounds.

As a team WBU went 28-of-67 (41.8 percent) from the field and 8-of-25 (32.0 percent) from three-point range.  Williams outshot CBC at the charity stripe, going 17-of-18 (94.4 percent) while the Mustangs hit just 13-of-21 (61.9 percent).  WBU won the rebound battle 45-38 and held the advantage in the paint 36-22.

After a slow start on both ends, WBU took the first lead of the game when a Benjamin Noonan triple put WBU up 7-2 early.  After a layup from Washington, CBC went on a 13-4 run to take the lead at 24-20 with 6:43 left in the first half.  The Mustangs extended the advantage with a buzzer-beater tip-in to go into the locker room ahead 34-28.

A jumper with 14:09 left to play in the second half gave CBC its largest lead of the night at 52-40 and forced a WBU timeout.  Out of the timeout, a three from Amarion Wilson kicked off a five-point swing to cut the lead to eight with just under 12 minutes to play.

Deion Wesson hit a three to cut the lead to one possession with 8:41 left to play at 58-55, but a pair of free throws put CBC back in front by five.

After a pair of made free throws from Wesson, a steal on the other end from Washington and a Wesson layup tied the game at 63-63 with just under five minutes to play in the second half.

Noonan followed out of the media timeout with a go-ahead three to put Williams ahead 66-63, and continued what ultimately ended up being an 18-2 Eagle run capped off by a pair of free throws from Aseem Luckey.  Williams took a 75-65 lead with the late rally.  A late push from CBC made it a six-point game with 14 seconds left, but WBU held on for the record-tying victory.

The win moves WBU to 20-4 overall and 10-3 in AMC play.  The Eagles finish the 2025-26 season with a 10-1 mark at home, the most wins inside the Southerland-Mabee Center since going 10-3 at home in 2021-22.

WBU will play for a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed in the American Midwest Conference Tournament against Hannibal-LaGrange on Saturday, Feb. 21.  Tipoff against the Trojans is set for 3 p.m. from Hannibal, Mo.