Box Score By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Lester Medford proved that he is not the weakest link.
Taking over the point guard reins from Kenny Chery, Medford had 13 points and nine assists and led a balanced scoring attack that blew out the visiting Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, 97-55, in Friday's season opener at the Ferrell Center.
"You've got to give Lester Medford a tremendous amount of credit," SFA head coach Brad Underwood said. "I was extremely impressed with him. I thought, potentially, that was a weak link on a team that's really good. He was just very good tonight. And I thought they got tremendous play from all the rest of their guys. They just took advantage of what was there."
This was expected to be a challenging test against an SFA team that won 29 games last season and, like Baylor, is coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history. But the Bears built a double-digit lead barely seven minutes into the first half and then buried the Lumberjacks by shooting a sizzling 71.4 percent from the field in the second half.
"If we can get this all year long - shoot 64 percent, 56 percent from 3, with 31 assists and eight turnovers - I won't lose any hair and it will be a heck of a year," Baylor coach Scott Drew said.
Six players scored in double figures, led by Rico Gathers with 18 points and seven rebounds, as the Bears handed Underwood by far his worst loss in two-plus years at SFA. The previous worst was an 18-point margin last year against Xavier, 81-63.
"Wow! I can honestly say that I'm a little bit in shock with my team and extremely impressed with theirs," Underwood said. "I don't know if I've ever had a team give up 71 percent field goal percentage in a half."
In a move similar to when Taurean Prince was designated as the sixth man last season, 6-9 sophomore Johnathan Motely came off the bench Friday night after starting all 34 games a year ago. He had 12 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench, while 6-5 junior Ishmael Wainright made his first start in almost two years and had eight points, nine boards, six assists and no turnovers.
"Ish was 258 (pounds), now he's 228, so it's like taking a 30-pound weight vest off," Drew said. "You're a lot quicker, a lot more athletic. He's always been a great teammate, always made winning plays. He can just make a lot more now because of his conditioning. And he deserves a lot of the credit. He's the one that's done the hard work. I know, for sure, he's going to be a crowd favorite."
Wainright got the game started on a good note when he drained a 3-pointer off an assist from Prince, who had 10 points and a career-high seven assists. With the Bears hitting seven of their first 10 shots, the lead hit double digits, 17-7, when Medford buried a pull-up jumper at the 12:51 mark in the first half.
"We were not ready to play, and we got pounded on a ton of different levels. (That's) unacceptable," said SFA senior Thomas Walkup, who scored 12 points to share team-high scoring honors with TJ Holyfield and Demetrious Floyd.
Baylor led by as many as 24 in the first half and took a 19-point cushion into the break, 42-23.
"I think when you've been preparing a month in advance, it kind of gives you that edge to go out there and basically execute everything you've been working on," Gathers said. "We were ready for whatever they threw at us."
If anything, the Bears were even better in the second half. Knocking down 20-of-28 shots overall and 6-of-10 from outside the arc, they pushed the lead to as many as 44, even after emptying the bench.
In the closing minutes, freshman guard King McClure drilled a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around the second career trey by senior walk-on John Heard. Playing their first collegiate games, McClure and fellow freshman Jake Lindsey had 11 and seven points, respectively, and were a combined 4-of-5 from outside the arc.
"This was a real tough game for two freshmen that had never put on a Baylor uniform and playing against a team that's a lot better than most people realize," Drew said. "Their defensive style is so different and tough. It's a tough game for them to step in, and I thought both of them did outstanding."
Facing their second tough test in as many outings, the Bears (1-0) will face the Oregon Ducks (1-0) at 10:30 p.m. CDT Monday in Eugene, Ore., as part of ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon. Freshman guard Tyler Dorsey scored 20 points in Oregon's 80-52 season-opening win over Jackson State Friday night.
