No. 1 Bears Scratch Out Win Against Scrappy Sooners, 84-74
WACO, Texas – The No. 1 Baylor Men’s Basketball team (14-0) won a hard-fought game against Power Moser’s Oklahoma Sooners (11-3) 84-74, to reach 2-0 in Big 12 play.
Led by James Akinjo’s 27 points and Adam Flagler’s 22 points, the Bears lead for the final 35 minutes of the contest but had some nervy moment towards the end.
Moser’s men shot the ball well early shooting around 43% from three and 66% from the field with two minutes left in the first half.
Baylor matched those numbers almost perfectly though and built a nine-point halftime lead thanks to their rebounding.
The Bears out-boarded the Sooners 34-16 on the night, including a 12-3 advantage on the offensive glass.
Rebounds were especially important in this game because both teams shot near 56% from the field. Baylor finished at 43% from three, while Oklahoma fell off to 25% from long range by the end.
Akinjo and Flagler being on today was clutch for Baylor since the Oklahoma defense did well making freshmen Kendall Brown and Jeremy Sochan non-factors on the offensive end.
The two veteran guards did combine for 12 of Baylor’s 20 turnovers, something Flagler groaned about in the postgame presser.
On the defensive side, the Bears know they have to get a lot better. Tanner Groves had 13 points, while Jalen hill, Umoja Gibson, and Ethan Chargois all reached double digits with 12, 12, and 10 respectively.
Other events to note: Matthew Mayer chipped a tooth in the first half and wore a mouthguard the rest of the night. Similarly, Sochan had to wear a bandage on his arm after finding Mayer's tooth in it.
If those anecdotes aren’t enough to convince you of how competitive this game was, then perhaps the dagger of a late-game block and bucket by Mayer will.
Moser had his team ready to go and they pushed the Bears to a second straight tight finish in conference play.
Up next for the Bears is a trip to TCU on Saturday (1/8). The game will be at 4 PM CT on ESPN+.