Keyonte, Cryer Carry Bears Past Razorbacks with Clutch Shooting, 67-64

WACO, Texas — The No. 17 Baylor Men’s Basketball team (16-5) earned a close and hard-fought victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks (14-6) Saturday afternoon in the Ferrell Center, 67-64, to bring its winning streak up to six.

Despite their worst shooting performance of the season, the green and gold found a way to win on the day Baylor honored the Immortal Ten, turning the ball over only eight times and shooting great from the free throw line.

Freshman phenom Keyonte George and junior shooting guard LJ Cryer led the Bears with 24 and 20 points respectively. Together they iced the game with clutch shots and free throws, protecting a narrow lead that took most of the second half to earn.

After the Bears got off to another solid start in the first, including a 16-8 lead at the under 12 minute media timeout, it was a struggle of a game. 

Jalen Bridges picked up three fouls and played just six minutes, while Langston Love did the same and managed eight minutes.

Cryer and George combined for 22 of the Bears' 27 first-half points, but the team finished the half on a 1-for17 shooting streak. That meant an 11-0 run for Arkansas that spanned about the last four minutes of the period.

At the break, Baylor was shooting a dismal 24% from the field and 25% from deep.

Those marks improved to just 34% and 33% by the end of the game, but the green and gold hit the shots that mattered most. That includes a great 21-for24 showing from the charity stripe.

After battling the halftime deficit down to just 40-39, Arkansas scored a pair of buckets and the Bears looked to have their hands full. 

However, a Bridges three and a George and-one gave Baylor its first lead of the half at the end of that 6-0 run.

The run that made the biggest impact though would come with just under six minutes remaining in the game. The Bears took a 53-49 deficit and turned it into a 59-53 lead thanks to a grind-it-out 10-0 run.

Ricky Council IV and Arkansas would push back hard, extending the final minute into a nerve-wracking free-throw challenge. 

Council may have finished with 25 points, but Cryer, George and the Bears passed the test. Baylor preserved its three-point lead from 62-59 to 67-64 at the final horn.

The Bears will now return to Big 12 conference play with a trip down to Austin to face the Longhorns on Monday night at 8 PM CT on ESPN.