Bears take game one in Vegas, dominate Louisiana 112-82
Written by Drake Toll
LAS VEGAS — The No. 2/1 Baylor men’s basketball team goes to Las Vegas and dominates Louisiana in their season opener, 112-82 under acting head coach Jerome Tang at T-Mobile Arena in the Vegas Bubble.
It was tough to find a hole in the Bears game as five players score in double figures and no player turned the ball over more than twice. Baylor shot 15-27 from behind the arc, scored 45 points off the bench and stole the ball 12 times.
MaCio Teague was the star in white with a team leading 21 points, four assists and seven rebounds, but LJ Cryer was the shooting star with 17 points on 5-7 from deep.
It was Louisiana that jumped out on Baylor 4-0 early, but the Bears rattled off 10 straight to answer emphatically, holding a 10-4 difference at the first break. The Ragin’ Cajuns pulled within one at 23-22 with 9:14 left in the first, but that’s when the Green and Gold opted to stop teasing.
A Matthew Mayer alley-oop slam and a Jared Butler three pushed Baylor to a 15-0 run that set the tone for the game and led to a 53-40 Bear lead at the half.
With a 13 point cushion to open the second, a Butler three ignited another run that pushed the Bears to a 20 point lead, 60-40. UL would pull within 15 at 69-54 with 14:07 to go, but that’s the closest the bad guys would come to sniffing Baylor again.
Within a blink, a Mayer lay-in sparked a 16-4 run that put BU up 85-58 with almost 10 to play. A nail in a coffin and utter domination later, we arrived to the 112-82 final score.
So, what can you make of the No. 2 squad in the nation obliterating a Sun Belt team that’s tangibly exciting? The returning players on the squad are just as good as last season.
Moreover, adding Cryer’s 17 points, Adam Flaglers 12 points and seven assists and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua’s seven boards show that new faces are going to make an already elite team… eliter?
A national championship isn’t won after a 30 point victory over UL, but every team that hoists the trophy starts somehow — and this is a damn good way to do so.