Box Score By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
With Baylor playing its second game in as many days, Scott Drew went to his deep bench early and often as the second-ranked Bears sprinted out to a 32-point first-half lead and blew out Alcorn State, 105-76, in Wednesday's afternoon matinee at the Ferrell Center.
Closing out a challenging 2020 with its 24th win in the calendar year and eighth-straight by double digits this season, Baylor (8-0) got 47 points from its bench, including the first double-digit efforts by freshmen Zach Loveday (10) and Jordan Turner (10).
"With us, the luxury to know that if one or two guys are out with COVID or injury, that you have some experienced players now because they have gotten games under their belt . . . that just feeds into your confidence to put them back in there," Drew said.
Because of the Big 12's policy to play if a team has at least six scholarship players available, Drew said, "you've got to make sure that everybody is ready to play if they're called upon. Because if you're one of those six, that's a lot of minutes."
Six players scored in double figures, including MaCio Teague with 18 and Jared Butler with 17, as the Bears reached the 100-point milestone for the third time this season and tied a school record with their eighth-consecutive double-digit win. The 2011-12 Elite Eight team also started the season with eight double-digit wins before squeaking out an 86-83 road win at BYU.
"Is it exactly what you intended or what you would have liked? No, because COVID has changed all of that," Drew said of a sporadic schedule that has seen seven games postponed or canceled, including high-profile matchup against top-ranked Gonzaga and No. 4 Villanova. "At the same time, we were able to play games, and some teams weren't able to play as many. So, blessed that we were able to play what we played."
Getting six early points from Tyree Corbett, who scored a game-high 24 points, the Braves (0-5) went toe-to-toe for the first six minutes. They had an 8-4 lead and tied it up at 12-12 on a Corbett jumper with 14:14 left in the first half.
But, Baylor reeled off nine unanswered points to take the lead for good and went on a 17-2 run to go up 29-14 when Butler got a layup off one of Alcorn State's 14 first-half turnovers.
Asked about what turned it around, Drew said jokingly, "Magical coaching words."
"I thought Alcorn did a good job coming in and being excited to play and made some shots," he said. "Credit them and their coach for a good game plan. And then, I thought our guys did a better job of not gambling and reaching and settling down and getting stops. Once we were able to get in a rhythm and a routine, obviously, we were able to pull away."
With the Bears up 59-27 at the break, Drew was able to sit starting forward Mark Vital in the second half for the second time in the last three games after he suffered a bruised leg in the game before the holiday break. As a group, the starters played a combined 35 (of a possible 100) minutes in the second half.
That opened the door for more playing time for Loveday, Turner and the rest of the bench. Matthew Mayer scored in double digits for the second-straight game and 14th time in his career with 14 points, while Turner hit three 3-pointers and Loveday was 4-of-4 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the line.
Turner, who matched his point total from the previous seven games, said the extra playing time for the subs will "help the team a lot."
"But at the same time, just staying locked-in on the bench – if I do get an opportunity, if I don't get an opportunity – to still be the best teammate," he said, "that's helping the team, me just being a great teammate."
Starting point guard Davion Mitchell had his second career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists after dishing out a career-high 12 assists in Tuesday's 93-56 win over Central Arkansas. Wednesday's 29-point victory ended a string of four-straight by 30 or more points.
Drew recorded his 370th Division I win, including 350th at Baylor. His father, Homer Drew, had a record of 371-304 in 22 seasons at Valparaiso and won 640 games combined, with the other 269 coming at NAIA schools.
Baylor (8-0, 1-0) resumes Big 12 action with a matchup against Iowa State (2-4, 0-2) at 12 noon Saturday in Ames. The Cyclones haven't played since a 60-45 win over Jackson State on Dec. 20.
"We know how good the Big 12 is," Drew said. "The experienced guy will tell you each and every night, it's a grind and it's a war, and you've got to be ready. I know they're excited for those challenges."
