No. 18 MBB Rolls Past Maryland Eastern Shore

Tuesday, December 3

Waco, Texas

6:30 p.m.

Baylor

Maryland-Eastern Shore

No. 18 MBB Rolls Past Maryland Eastern Shore

12/3/2019 9:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Bears got a 20-point outing from sophomore guard Jared Butler.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Scott Drew says they call it "Feast Week" for a reason. "And we all feasted."
            While 18^th-ranked Baylor (6-1) maybe wasn't at its best, turning it over 12 times, missing two dunks and shooting just 59 percent from the free throw line, the Bears still had more than enough to roll over a winless Maryland-Eastern Shore team, 78-46, Tuesday night at the Ferrell Center.
            "First game back from Thanksgiving break, you know you're going to be a little rusty in some areas," said Drew, whose team won its fifth-straight game, "but really pleased with the overall performance. We got a lead, we built on the game, the game was never in jeopardy. We did do some things well and executed on some things and hopefully got some rust off from the Thanksgiving break."
            Sophomore guard Jared Butler drained five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 20 points in Baylor's first game action since winning the Myrtle Beach Invitational title by beating then-No. 17 Villanova, 87-78, back on Nov. 24.
            Butler, who won MVP honors at Myrtle Beach, said it was good for the Bears to "get back into the rhythm of the game and how fast it is."
            "It was just getting the rust off," said senior guard Devonte Bandoo, who punctuated a 12-point second half with a pair of tomahawk slam dunks. "I'm sure all of us had a big Thanksgiving dinner. We're still trying to get that off. It's going to take time."
            Bandoo had 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Matthew Mayer scored 12 and MaCio Teague had 10 points, seven boards and five assists. With 6-10 junior Tristan Clark sitting out the game with knee soreness, 6-9 senior forward Freddie Gillespie had a career-high 13 rebounds and five blocks to go with two points.
            Maryland-Eastern Shore (0-10), playing its ninth road game of the season and fourth against a Power 5 team, shot just 27 percent from the floor (17-of-64) and 26 percent from 3-point range (5-of-19) and got outrebounded, 52-36.
            "Jared's a guy who has ridiculous range and can let it fly anytime," Hawks head coach Jason Crafton said. "Also, the intriguing thing about him is his ability to make plays off the bounce. He's a strong, physical guard who when he gets going with his right hand he's tough to stop. We didn't get the job done as much as we wanted to, but he's a really good player."
            Butler drained a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points in the first 4 ½ minutes as Baylor jumped out to a quick 11-1 lead. The Bears stretched it to 22-3 on another trey by Butler and took a 38-21 lead into the break.
            "Jared is somebody that offensively he's really excelled," Drew said. "We're constantly helping him become elite on both ends. But offensively, he's really been shooting the ball well. And four assists, zero turnovers, was outstanding as well."
            Baylor had a 12-2 run early in the second half, with Bandoo and Mark Vital providing exclamation-point dunks, to extend that lead out to 53-26 and allowed Drew the chance to give the starters some extra rest time late in the game.
            "I really need to show my dunks," Bandoo said. "I have a 43-inch vertical. I just didn't get to show it that much last year. This year, I plan on showing it a little bit more."
            In one of their toughest stretches of the season, the Bears will host No. 12 Arizona (9-0) at 11 a.m. Saturday and then No. 24 Butler (8-0) at 8 p.m. next Tuesday in a game that will be televised by ESPN2.
            With the No. 7 Baylor football team playing sixth-ranked Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the athletic department is offering free admission for the men's game against Arizona. The football game will be shown on the video board at halftime and there will be a watch party in the Stone Room following the end of the men's game.