No. 24 MBB Tops Nova for Myrtle Beach Invitational Title

Sunday, November 24

Conway, S.C.

4:00 p.m. CT

Baylor

5-1,0-0Big 12

Villanova

4-2,0-0Big East

Villanova

Baylor

No. 24 MBB Tops Nova for Myrtle Beach Invitational Title

11/24/2019 6:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score PDF Box Postgame Notes

MaCio Teague scored 18 points to lead Baylor.

            CONWAY, S.C. – Jared Butler embraces the big moment, the big stage.
            Named the tournament MVP, the sophomore guard hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give 24^th-ranked Baylor the lead for good and scored 10 of his 22 points in the last six minutes as the Bears defeated No. 17 Villanova, 87-78, Sunday to win the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
            "It seems like the bigger the moment, the better he plays," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team improved to 5-1 and won its third regular-season tournament in the last four years and fifth overall. "We have quite a few players who don't shy away from big moments, but Jared really is able to raise his level down the stretch of games and in big situations."
            In a back-and-forth game that featured nine times and 18 lead changes, Butler buried a step-back 3-pointer to give the Bears a one-point lead with 5:52 left and then hit another one 30 seconds later to give Baylor a lead it would never relinquish.
            "The last five minutes of the game are the most important, so I locked-in and said, 'I really want to win this game,''' said Butler, who was 4-of-8 from 3-point range, adding three assists, two steals and a block. "It's a game for runs, for sure, and they're a great team and they're going to keep fighting. Usually, the team that makes the run in the last five minutes wins."
            Villanova (4-2) took a 41-38 halftime lead when Saddiq Bey hit all three free throws when MaCio Teague was called for a three-shot foul with 0.4 seconds left. The Wildcats led by as many as six and went up 66-64 with 6:14 remaining on a pair of free throws by Collin Gillespie, who scored a game-high 27 points and earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
            But down the stretch, Baylor forced three turnovers and held the Wildcats without a field goal for the last 2 ½ minutes.
            "Their guards were outstanding," said Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose team had won six-straight November tournaments. "It wasn't just the way they shot the ball, they made great decisions, they read our defenses and made adjustments. And then defensively, they really guarded us and got up into us. They're really physical, and we couldn't run anything."
            Butler made another jumper from the top of the key, then fed Devonte Bandoo for a trey that pushed the lead to 77-71 with 3:06 left. After a driving layup by Gillespie at the 2:38 mark that made it a four-point game, Villanova's only points came from the free throw line.
            After giving up a double-digit second-half lead in a 67-64 loss to Washington two weeks ago, the Bears closed it out this time, outscoring the Wildcats, 23-12, in the last six minutes.
            "No one likes to lose, but I think the Washington game really helped us win this game," Drew said. "I thought down the stretch, we really made a lot of good plays, a lot of smart plays. We executed, we were disciplined. Anytime you beat a two-time national champ in Villanova, you have to beat them, they're not going to beat themselves."
            Baylor had four other players in double figures, with MaCio Teague hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 18 points to join Butler on the all-tournament team. Davion Mitchell added 13 points, while Tristan Clark and Matthew Mayer scored 10 points apiece.
            The Bears scored 13 points off Villanova's 12 turnovers while committing their fewest turnovers (five) since turning it over five times at Texas on Feb. 26, 2014.
            Highly touted 6-9 freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Villanova and gave the Wildcats their second all-tourney pick. Sophomores Bey and Cole Swider had 12 and 11 points, respectively.
            Baylor gets an extended break for Thanksgiving before hosting back-to-back home games against Maryland-Eastern Shore on Dec. 3 and 14^th-ranked Arizona on Dec. 7.
            "When you go on breaks, you always want to end on a win," said Drew, who improved to 36-12 in regular-season tournaments in 17 years at Baylor. "I'm really proud of us and how we executed."