Shorthanded Bears rally to beat Mountaineers 81-77
WACO, Texas — The No. 8 Baylor men’s basketball team (19-3, 7-2) beat West Virginia (13-8, 2-6) at home, 81-77, despite being down two starters.
Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer did not play. There’s your apex storyline. Your two best shooters. Guys you depend on from behind the arc. Gonzo. And it showed.
But that didn’t stop your Baylor Bears from finding a way. I’m not sure what it is about the Ferrell Center, but Scott Drew's squad climbed back from down 10 to create a two-game home winning streak. It was not pretty, but that doesn't change the addition to the win column.
Recapping the first half, the Bears came out hot and quickly rolled to a 20-10 lead. But, like all good things, that success soon came to an end. Cue a 29-11 run for the Mountaineers over the final 11:20 of the half — which included a 16-1 run to close.
Taz Sherman was en fuego. Baylor was not. The Bears shot 36% from the field, including 2-13 from deep. Furthermore, the team started 0-7 from the free-throw line. I get it. A rowdy environment. An unfamiliar place. A hand in your fac… nope. Just free throws. Things you must make.
Despite a 13-0 second-chance points advantage and an 18-8 points in the paint lead, Baylor trailed 39-31 at the break.
Now, the second half was just weird. If you watched the game, you understand that West Virginia utilized a hidden magnet in the ball to make a myriad of second-half shots. From and-one threes, swishes while falling to the ground and balls that hit the rim four times before landing home, the Mountaineers could’ve been trying to miss and it wouldn’t have worked.
That said, Baylor climbed back from down 59-51 with a 15-5 run that gave the team a 66-64 lead at the under four-minute timeout. It was back-and-forth from there. But Matthew Mayer and James Akinjo were enough to lead Baylor to the victorious 81-77 final.
Akinjo had 25. The home team led second-chance points 22-2. Points in the paint favored the Bears 42-20. The Green and Gold had 26 bench points to West Virginia’s 12. And Baylor won the rebounding battle 35-25.
The score was much closer than the stat book showed. West Virginia had an uncanny shooting night, but it wasn’t enough to beat a determined Baylor team at home. Bring on Kansas.
OH — and West Virginia finished the game on an 9-11 run from the field past the 11:14 mark. They were up 55-46 at that point. They still lost. That’s insane.