MBB Closes Strong to Defeat South Dakota

Tuesday, November 27

Waco, Texas

7 p.m.

Baylor

5-2

South Dakota

3-3

South Dakota

Baylor

MBB Closes Strong to Defeat South Dakota

11/27/2018 9:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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King McClure scored a team-high 15 points to lead the Bears.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Whether it was nerves or rust, Mario Kegler's first 15 minutes in a Baylor uniform were pretty forgettable. The sophomore transfer from Mississippi State missed his first five attempts from the field and shot three air balls from 3-point range.

"You can do all the cardio you want, but when you step out on the court with the lights, it's just different. It's a different adrenaline rush," coach Scott Drew said. "He was so excited, and I think you saw that."

Kegler did heat up, hitting 3-of-5 in the second half and finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks as the Bears (5-2) scored 12 unanswered points to pull out a 63-57 win over the South Dakota Coyotes Tuesday night at the Ferrell Center.

"It was an ugly (win), but we got it," Kegler, who was suspended from the first six games this season after sitting out last year as a Division I transfer. "I'm just happy to be back out there fighting with my team. I came out trying to rush it a little bit, but I slowed down in the second half and just let it come to me, and it kind of worked out for me."

With Baylor missing 20 of its first 24 shots from the field, South Dakota led by as many as nine in the first half and went into the break up by two, 29-27. The Bears had tied it on a Mark Vital layup off an assist from Makai Mason before senior forward Trey Burch-Manning gave the Coyotes the lead back with a soft, fade-away jumper.

Mason and Kegler both knocked down 3-pointers in an 8-2 run to start the second half, giving the Bears a 35-31 lead. But, South Dakota answered with five straight points and rarely trailed until Baylor's closing run.

Burch-Manning gave the Coyotes a 57-51 lead on a layup with 4:58 left, but those were the last points they would score. Baylor's 12-0 run started with a Tristan Clark layup and two free throws, then Vital tied it up with a layup off a nice feed from Kegler.

Then it was all Mason, with the grad transfer from Yale hitting the go-ahead shot on a jumper in the lane, then a 3-pointer from the corner and a free throw to give the Bears their largest lead of the game with 30.4 seconds left.

"Defensively, we were pretty active, and we were able to get rebounds," Mason said of a defense that held the Coyotes to just two points in the last seven minutes and 0-for-10 from the field down the stretch. "It helped us getting stops, and then we were able to get a couple of key buckets down the stretch. It was really the defense that sparked it."

Drew said the difference in the closing stretch was the Bears having experience on the floor with Mason and Kegler as transfers.

"With first-year guys, you don't win the last five minutes, and you don't win it by 12, normally," Drew said. "So, it was great to get stops."

South Dakota coach Todd Lee said his team "let one get away" after leading for more than 30 of the game's 40 minutes, winning the rebounding battle, 42-41, and outscoring the Bears, 19-9, on second-chance points.

But, he said what the 6-foot-7, 230-pound Kegler "adds to their group is size and athleticism, and he's pretty good handling the ball."

"If he gets his shot down, he's going to help them a lot. Even without it right now, he does help them with his size and athleticism. He's a big, strong man."

Burch-Manning recorded a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead South Dakota (3-3), while McClure had 15 points and Mason 10 for the Bears. Clark had eight points, six boards and six blocks after a scoreless first half, with freshman Matthew Mayer hitting two 3-pointers and scoring nine points with four rebounds and two assists.

Baylor has a difficult stretch coming up with back-to-back road games at Wichita State and Arizona before a three-game home stand against Stephen F. Austin, Oregon and New Orleans to close out the calendar year.