MBB Falls to Texas Southern, 72-69

Tuesday, November 6

Waco, Texas

8:30 p.m.

Baylor

0-1

Texas Southern

1-0

Texas Southern

Baylor

MBB Falls to Texas Southern, 72-69

11/6/2018 11:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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King McClure led the Bears with 23 points.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

On a night when King McClure tied his career high with 23 points and Baylor led by as many as 17 in the second half, it still wasn't enough.

Texas Southern's Jaylyn Patterson, a grad transfer from LSU, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the last minute and then nailed two free throws with 4.4 seconds left as the visiting Tigers ended the game on a 34-14 run and stunned the Bears, 72-69, in Tuesday's season opener before a Ferrell Center crowd of 4,327.

"Not the start to the season we wanted," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "We got in foul trouble. We had the lead and we had to keep our somewhat experienced players, Mark (Vital) and Tristan (Clark) on the bench. That really hurt us in the second half when they were able to keep their starters out there. They made the big plays down the stretch with offensive rebounds, shooting 63 percent. We played like first-game jitters."

Not only did the Bears return only three experienced players, they also had transfers Makai Mason and Mario Kegler sidelined and then Clark picked up three fouls in the first half and only played 19 minutes before fouling out with 3:18 left and the Bears clinging to a three-point lead.

A 3-pointer by Vital and back-to-back inside buckets by newcomers Flo Thamba and Freddie Gillespie gave the Bears a commanding 55-38 lead with just under 14 minutes to play.

But, the visiting Tigers kept chipping away and got back within single digits, 59-51, on a dunk by 7-2 center Trayvon Reed, who finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

"We knew we didn't play a very good first half of basketball," said first-year Texas Southern head coach Johnny Jones, formerly the head coach at LSU and North Texas. "We knew that it was important for us to try to settle in, just fight in the second half and then make some improvements and try to win the four-minute intervals. We were very fortunate that we were able to keep battling and cutting into it after being down 17."

Jeremy Combs got an offensive rebound and putback to pull the Tigers back within one, 65-64, but Vital answered on the other end with a leaner off the glass off an assist from McClure. That was the Bears' first bucket in more than four minutes.

Patterson tied it on a 3-pointer before McClure drove inside for a layup that put the Bears back on top, 69-67, with just 37 seconds left in the game. But, Patterson's dagger gave Texas Southern its first lead since 8-7.

"I thought he was obviously the difference in the game," Drew said of Patterson, who hit five 3-pointers and finished with 23 points and six assists. "Fifth-year guy from LSU who has been in these situations before. He was the one guy we couldn't lose, the one guy you couldn't give up the shots to. They got the offensive rebounds, they got him the ball and he made the shots."

Baylor had a chance to tie or take the lead with Vital at the line shooting a one-and-one, but Darius Allen was called for a lane violation and Patterson sank a pair of free throws on the other end to make it a three-point game.

"I think I knew it wasn't our night when they hit the two (3-pointers when we had chances to get rebounds after King made the layup," Drew said. "The one thing you tell them right before they get up there: no lane violation. And we get a lane violation. I think it was a good vet move by (Combs). He gave a little shimmy move, and Allen fell for it."

Vital just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, with JC transfer Devonte Bandoo scoring 10 in his Baylor debut.

The Bears, who had won 56 in a row against SWAC teams, remain home to face Southern at 5 p.m. Saturday and then Prairie View at 7 p.m. Monday.