Story Poster
Baylor Basketball

Baylor takes down No. 7 Xavier 76-61 for another comeback win

December 3, 2016
5,826

WACO, Texas —— With Baylor coming off three comeback victories in the Battle 4 Atlantis to jump a ninth-place ranking, the Ferrell Center hosted a top-ten matchup against Xavier for the third time. Not only did that attract ESPN2 to air the game, but even brought down Xavier-loving Bill Murray.

Like the Hollywood legend, the game was pure entertainment from start to finish, each team coming out with both arms swinging. Aside from the first couple of minutes, the game was largely held within a possession or two with each lead change answered by deafening applause.

In the end, though, it was Baylor whose final punch that came out on top 76-61.

It was by the hands of point guard Manu Lecomte and his 24 points the Bears were saved from ultimately having the last lead change. After starting the game 0-of-4 from behind the arc, Lecomte hit 6-of-9 of his treys, his fourth of which put the Bears up 40-39 to erase a first half deficit. His shot at 9:34 put Baylor up 55-51 for its biggest lead since the starting minutes. Baylor then went on a 16-2 run to cushion its new lead.

Beside Lecomte, Baylor continually struggled to both hit and defend perimeter shots. The Bears finished the night 1-of-13 from range with players not named Lecomte. Xavier answered with 9-of-27 from range as Trevor Blueitt hit 6-of-10 of his shots. He led the Musketeers with 18 points.

Despite Baylor’s lackluster three-point tries, it made up for that inefficiency in the paint with Johnathan Motley 6-of-13 on two-point tries. Baylor collectively shot 29-of-61 from the field which also made up for the surprising lack of shots from the line in the early runnings. After getting into the first bonus early in the second half, Baylor had 18 free throws after averaging over 20 a game in Atlantis.

Not only was Baylor’s offensive game inside making up for lost shots outside, the Bears also came to play on defense. Motley had one blocked shot in the first half, but it was the six swats from forward Jo Lual-Acuil that was one of the night’s many highlights. Even in the first few minutes, Xavier was nervous to shoot in his radius as multiple shots went errant even if he didn’t make contact.

Acuil’s name was also often called on offense as well and had two of the biggest dunks of the night to get the nearly sold out crowd roaring. He had a near-alley oop with under five minutes remaining as a part of Baylor’s late run that will be key to keep climbing up the rankings.

Though it was Acuil, Lecomte, and Motley making the most noise with a combined 53 points, others were keen on getting in on the action too.

Forward Ish Wainright had five assists to match Lecomte’s total as the point guard who had a key no-looker to Jake Lindsey to go up 50-46 at 12:10. Even Motley got in on the action directing traffic with a key assist to Lecomte in the first half.

However, the underlining stat remains the ability to maintain and retain possessions.

Baylor turned the ball over just 10 times compared to forcing 16 turnovers from the Musketeers. Guard Al Freeman and Lecomte combined for five turnovers while Xavier had seven players have two or more turnovers. It was Terry Maston leading the way with three steals that helped propel that movement.

With the win, Baylor has won three games over top-ten opponents in one season for the first time in program history.
Discussion from...

Baylor takes down No. 7 Xavier 75-61 for another comeback win

3,231 Views | 0 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by Sean Cordy
There are not any replies to this post yet.
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.