Baylor takes down Oklahoma 60-54 to hold on to second place

WACO, Texas — The last time Baylor lost two straight games, the Bears responded with a win to boost hopes. Staying true to form after losing each game last week, Baylor jump backed with a 60-54 win over Oklahoma to provide another shot of hope to finish the season strong.

Like the bulk of the season, Baylor got out to an early lead with Johnathan Motley finding the basket after the tip. As expected from Motley —  who was acknowledged before the game for scoring 1,000 career points — he took control of the game early on, nearly recording a double-double at halftime with Baylor on top 36-28.

Baylor was advantageous of some early Oklahoma misses, out rebounding the Sooners to propel a 14-3 run within the first few minutes of the game. While Motley was the feature, Jo Lual-Acuil played the complementing piece down low to pull Sooners off Motley’s back.

Acuil finished the night with 11 points and nine rebounds, consistently getting in the mix as Motley's wingman. Also getting back into motion was Al Freeman. Returning from a four-game hiatus, Freeman’s six points may be ultimately inconsequential but helped stave off a brief Sooner comeback led by McGusty’s team-leading 13 points.

But coach Scott Drew said he was most impressed with Freeman's performance on defense.

"I though Al was really good defensively. Really good. And I know he played within himself as a good teammate. He’s done a great job since he’s been back (at practice), so he deserved the opportunity," Drew said following the game.

He had a layup that helped push Baylor back to a 49-43 lead, a big enough lead to keep some rapid Sooners threes from being a true threat. At one point, Oklahoma was shooting 20 percent from three-point range but had a quick burst of success from the perimeter to build to a two-point deficit when Manu Lecomte reminded fans he’s still on the court.

After a fast-break broke down following one of Acuil’s seven blocks, Lecomte pulled up for a three to push Baylor to a 52-47 lead. He followed suit with another trey to hike the score to 55-47 with six minutes left.

“That was huge and we’d like to run some stuff for him but he couldn’t get separation, couldn’t really move like he’s capable of moving," Drew said. "That’s a real compliment to his toughness because if you just came to the game, you wouldn’t have known he was injured.”

Those made up the bulk of his 11 total points. Most of his contribution came off feeding Motley and crew with six assists, impressing coach Scott Drew playing on a bad ankle.

Ish Wainwright wasn’t far behind with five of his own. Motley himself had four assists, making his 21 points and 16 rebounds all the more impressive considering how well Lon Kruger sent pressure to guard him the second half.

Without Motley scoring as readily the last half, there was a severe scoring drought on both sides of the ball to close out the half. Baylor went without a field goal for five straight minutes, putting pressure on Baylor’s defense which responded accordingly, denying the Sooners for four of those minutes, getting the jump on rebounds to protect the score.

Baylor closed the night’s rebound battle 43-34, helping make up for would-be lost momentum and ultimately preserving the win.

With the win, Baylor improves to 10-5 in the conference, holding on to hopes for a bye in the Big 12 tournament.