Baylor Basketball
Baylor finishes off FGCU 81-72 after second half scare
WACO, Texas — Baylor (3-0) avoided a hangover against Florida Gulf Coast (1-2) after their victory over No. 4 Oregon earlier this week. After a comfortable halftime lead vanished and the Eagles took a 3-point lead in the second half, the Bears were able to answer back and escape with an 81-72 victory on Friday evening.
"Coming into this game we knew how tough a game this was going to be for us. And especially early in the season," Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. "They returned six of their top eight from a team that went to the tournament and we’ve got one senior. So it was good to see how some of these guys could play in a close game for the first time.
The first time the game came within striking distance for FGCU was with seven minutes remaining tied at 24-24 in the first half. Thanks to guard Al Freeman’s series of scores, Baylor soon pulled away with confidence and exited the first half with a 42-32 lead.
Freeman finished with 17 points and six rebounds on the night.
Viewers whose association with FGCU stems solely from March Madness were left slightly underwhelmed by Dunk City. There were only a few attempts to drive to the glass by the Eagles with Baylor junior shot blocker Jo Lual-Acuil in complete command of the paint. Acuil finished with five blocks on the night and was a big reason for that aversion to driving the lane.
Instead, FGCU flashed their ability from the perimeter. The Eagles finished 10-of-19 from beyond the arc and was a major factor to grabbing the 58-55 lead midway through the second half.
On the other hand, after Baylor’s wildly successful performance from deep against Oregon, the Bears were just 4-of-17 from the perimeter. Freeman was the only player to make a trey before point guard Manu Lecomte hit one a 14:00 in the second half. Lecomte finished the night 2-of-5 shooting from range.
“We definitely could have played better ourselves," Freeman said. "We didn’t shoot the three as well as we should have today. But you can’t rely on outside shots to fall. It’s just a learning experience early in the season for both teams.”
Despite that struggle to compete with three-pointers, Baylor was able to maintain control from the free throw line. FGCU led the Bears to the line 31 times times with Lecomte leading the way with 7-of-8 made. Baylor missed only four of those shots. Those single point shots piled up quickly to combat FGCU’s three-point success.
"Well I think 27 for 31 (87 percent), free throw coach deserves a raise, whoever that was," Drew said. "But we needed to hit those ‘cause we weren’t hitting the threes."
After FGCU took a 58-55 lead with 10 minutes remaining, forward Terry Maston took made his and-one after hitting his shot in the paint to bring things back to a tie. Immediately after, Wainright stole the ball right back and was brought to the line after an FGCU team foul to go up 59-58.
“When they went ahead, we didn’t panic and get down on each other or on ourselves," Lecomte said. "We just stayed with it and said keep playing how we’re playing. Keep driving the ball. Just keep creating [shots] for each other. Just throw the ball into the post. We got Jo and Mot down there (and Ish). Just keep playing. Stay with it."
Moments later, Baylor regained possession to take a 61-58 lead off a Lecomte layup. Another FGCU foul led Wainright to the line for another and-one attempt to take a 64-58 lead that was preserved by one of Acuil’s five blocks followed by a two-point shot in rapid succession.
"We definitely wanted to get inside," Drew said. "So we thought we had the advantage there and wanted to get the ball in there. And then when we missed threes, made it easier for people to keep emphasizing that."
Also getting in on the action at the line was forward Johnathan Motley who was 6-of-7 from the line. Motley's two free throws in the final three minutes were part of a rally to protect that lead punctuated by an Acuil dunk and Lecomte trey to return to a sense of normalcy.
"I thought we really locked in. I thought the crowd was great the last four minutes of the game," Drew said.
With the win, the Bears head to the Battle 4 Atlantis with a 3-0 record. VCU is first up on the schedule Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. CT.
"Coming into this game we knew how tough a game this was going to be for us. And especially early in the season," Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. "They returned six of their top eight from a team that went to the tournament and we’ve got one senior. So it was good to see how some of these guys could play in a close game for the first time.
The first time the game came within striking distance for FGCU was with seven minutes remaining tied at 24-24 in the first half. Thanks to guard Al Freeman’s series of scores, Baylor soon pulled away with confidence and exited the first half with a 42-32 lead.
Freeman finished with 17 points and six rebounds on the night.
Viewers whose association with FGCU stems solely from March Madness were left slightly underwhelmed by Dunk City. There were only a few attempts to drive to the glass by the Eagles with Baylor junior shot blocker Jo Lual-Acuil in complete command of the paint. Acuil finished with five blocks on the night and was a big reason for that aversion to driving the lane.
Instead, FGCU flashed their ability from the perimeter. The Eagles finished 10-of-19 from beyond the arc and was a major factor to grabbing the 58-55 lead midway through the second half.
On the other hand, after Baylor’s wildly successful performance from deep against Oregon, the Bears were just 4-of-17 from the perimeter. Freeman was the only player to make a trey before point guard Manu Lecomte hit one a 14:00 in the second half. Lecomte finished the night 2-of-5 shooting from range.
“We definitely could have played better ourselves," Freeman said. "We didn’t shoot the three as well as we should have today. But you can’t rely on outside shots to fall. It’s just a learning experience early in the season for both teams.”
Despite that struggle to compete with three-pointers, Baylor was able to maintain control from the free throw line. FGCU led the Bears to the line 31 times times with Lecomte leading the way with 7-of-8 made. Baylor missed only four of those shots. Those single point shots piled up quickly to combat FGCU’s three-point success.
"Well I think 27 for 31 (87 percent), free throw coach deserves a raise, whoever that was," Drew said. "But we needed to hit those ‘cause we weren’t hitting the threes."
After FGCU took a 58-55 lead with 10 minutes remaining, forward Terry Maston took made his and-one after hitting his shot in the paint to bring things back to a tie. Immediately after, Wainright stole the ball right back and was brought to the line after an FGCU team foul to go up 59-58.
“When they went ahead, we didn’t panic and get down on each other or on ourselves," Lecomte said. "We just stayed with it and said keep playing how we’re playing. Keep driving the ball. Just keep creating [shots] for each other. Just throw the ball into the post. We got Jo and Mot down there (and Ish). Just keep playing. Stay with it."
Moments later, Baylor regained possession to take a 61-58 lead off a Lecomte layup. Another FGCU foul led Wainright to the line for another and-one attempt to take a 64-58 lead that was preserved by one of Acuil’s five blocks followed by a two-point shot in rapid succession.
"We definitely wanted to get inside," Drew said. "So we thought we had the advantage there and wanted to get the ball in there. And then when we missed threes, made it easier for people to keep emphasizing that."
Also getting in on the action at the line was forward Johnathan Motley who was 6-of-7 from the line. Motley's two free throws in the final three minutes were part of a rally to protect that lead punctuated by an Acuil dunk and Lecomte trey to return to a sense of normalcy.
"I thought we really locked in. I thought the crowd was great the last four minutes of the game," Drew said.
With the win, the Bears head to the Battle 4 Atlantis with a 3-0 record. VCU is first up on the schedule Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. CT.
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