Feb 9, 2002
Box Score
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
WACO, Texas (AP) - Matt Sayman needed a lot of iron to give Baylor a rare win over a Top 25 team.
The first of Sayman's two free throws with 11 seconds left rattled all over the rim before falling in to tie the game. He then swished the second one as the Bears (14-9, 4-7 Big 12) upset No. 22 Missouri 81-80 Saturday night.
"I think it went in the basket from the bottom," Baylor coach Dave Bliss said.
All that mattered was that it went in.
"The first one, it was scary. It hit every part of the rim," said Sayman, a 76-percent free-throw shooter. "It's something you practice over and over. Making that one gives confidence in the second one."
Missouri (17-7, 6-4) still had one more chance after that. And the Tigers had the ball in the hands of Kareem Rush, who made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:37 left after they had come back from a 10-point deficit.
Rush drove the lane after a timeout but couldn't make the final shot in traffic.
"We got the ball in our best player's hands. That's a tough play to lose on," said Missouri coach Quinn Snyder. "Baylor did some good things. They changed their defense and were switching everything."
It was the first Baylor win over a Top 25 team in the regular season since an 85-77 shocker over Kansas last Feb. 12. They had lost their first three against ranked teams this season, including 70-57 at No. 4 Oklahoma on Wednesday night.
"I treasure this more than the Kansas win," Wendell Greenleaf said. "It took a lot of courage to stay together. We fought to the end."
Rush scored 29 points, including 11 in a 20-6 run that gave Missouri its first lead since just after halftime. The last of Rush's seven 3-pointers put Missouri ahead 78-76 with 1:37 left.
John Lucas made a 3-pointer with 39 seconds to put Baylor back ahead, before Arthur Johnson scored inside for Missouri for an 80-79 lead. Sayman was then fouled by Rush as he drove inside.
Lucas and Greenleaf both had 19 points for Baylor, while R.T. Guinn had 14. Lucas and Guinn each had three of the 11 3-pointers by Baylor, which leads the Big 12 with more than nine a game.
Clarence Gilbert added 18 points for Missouri, Johnson had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Rush made 7-of-13 3-pointers and the Tigers made 13-of-26 from long range.
Missouri, which dropped into fourth place in the Big 12, was playing the first of four road games in a five-game stretch. Baylor was playing the second of six straight against Top 25 teams.
Baylor led 63-53 after Lucas flashed inside and took a pass from Greg Davis for a layup with 11:45 left. The Bears still led by 10 nearly five minutes later before Rush hit two free throws.
Missouri led 43-41 at the half after Gilbert's 3-pointer - and after blowing a 14-point lead.
A 3-pointer by Rush gave the Tigers a 36-22 lead, but Baylor went on a 17-2 run over the final 5:37 of the half.
Greenleaf started the Bears' comeback with two free throws, followed by a steal he turned into a layup. Four players scored in the run, capped when Sayman found a gap in the lane for a layup that pushed the Bears ahead 41-40.
