Jan 11, 2003

Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. - A furious late comeback by a depleted Baylor squad wasn't enough to overcome No. 13 Missouri on the road as the Bears lost 77-69 at the Hearnes Center in Columbia Saturday.

Playing without injured R.T. Guinn most of the game, and without Lawrence Roberts for the final five minutes, Baylor erased a double-digit deficit to pull to as close as three points with a minute remaining behind the heroics of Kenny Taylor.

Trailing 64-55 with four and a half minutes to play, the Bears went on a 14-8 run behind four Taylor 3-pointers and a jumper by John Lucas to pull to 72-69 with 1:39 to play. Missouri got a dunk and three free throws to complete the scoring.

Taylor finished with career-tying totals of 23 points and seven made 3-point field goals. Lucas finished with 18 points, and Terrance Thomas added 10 points and 10 rebounds, his third double-double of the season.

Arthur Johnson had 13 first half points to lead the Tigers to a 35-25 halftime lead. Johnson also put the clamps on Roberts, holding him to six points. Roberts fouled out with five minutes remaining.

Baylor played most of the game without starting center Guinn, who suffered a head injury midway through the first half, and watched the remainder of the game in street clothes from the bench.

Baylor entered the game as the Big 12's top 3-point shooting team, averaging 9.8 per game on 26.9 attempts, but largely against lesser competition. Against Missouri, the Bears misfired most of the game before getting hot at the end, finishing 10-for-37.

Baylor has lost 19 straight road games dating to a Jan. 13, 2001 victory at Kansas State, and is 1-7 against ranked opponents the last two seasons. The Bears beat Missouri 81-80 last year in Waco, Texas.