Top-Ranked MBB Holds off Oklahoma to Remain Unbeaten

Tuesday, January 4

Waco, Texas

6 PM

Baylor

14-0,2-0Big 12

Oklahoma

11-3,1-1Big 12

Oklahoma

Baylor

Top-Ranked MBB Holds off Oklahoma to Remain Unbeaten

1/4/2022 8:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Book (PDF)

James Akinjo Ties a Career-High with 27 points in the Win

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Looking down at the stat sheet in front of him, Baylor guard Adam Flagler shook his head and mumbled under his breath, "Golly, man!"
            Obviously, he wasn't looking at his 22 points, 8-of-14 shooting overall or 2-for-4 from outside the 3-point arc in top-ranked Baylor's 84-74 win over Oklahoma Tuesday night at the Ferrell Center. The number that practically leapt off the page was Flagler committing five of the Bears' 20 turnovers.
            "It really upsets us. We don't really worry about the points," Flagler said of himself and James Akinjo, who matched his career high with 27 points while turning it over seven times. We have the ball in our hands a lot, so when we are turning it over a lot, we're hurting our team. And that's the last thing we want."
            Akinjo, noting the team's turnover issues, said, "I don't even want to look at it."
            Despite the 20 turnovers and some defensive lapses that allowed Oklahoma (11-3, 1-1) to shoot 56% from the floor (29-of-52), the Bears (14-0, 2-0) won their seventh-straight against the Sooners and extended their nation-best winning streak to 20 in a row.
            "We're a tough team, a tough group of guys," said Akinjo, who scored 27 for the second time in three weeks. "Matthew Mayer broke his tooth, but he was still out there battling. Jeremy (Sochan) fond the tooth in his arm and wrapped it up and battled. That's what we did. We just fought. . . . We know in the Big 12, no one is going away."
            The Sooners certainly didn't. Even when they got down by as many as 13 in the first half, they closed on a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 45-36 on a coast-to-coast layup by Bijan Cortes. OU shot a sizzling 68% in the first half, making a stunning 15-of-22 shots, including 12-of-15 from inside the 3-point line.
            "I thought there were a lot of things that were different and new and caused us trouble," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, who was presented a game ball for his 400^th career win prior to the game. "The good thing is, going forward, hopefully we'll be better for it."
            Flagler said the Sooners "do a great job of moving without the ball, back-cutting, and that was an adjustment for us."
            "They just executed at a high level, moved around," he said. "And just when you think a screen is coming, they would blow right by us. It's the small little cues we need to work. We'll be able to practice on it and get better for Saturday."
            After Flagler knocked down a 3-pointer and a floater in the lane to push the lead to 50-36, OU answered with a 9-0 run that included a 3-pointer by Elijah Harkless and capped by an Ethan Chargois three-point play.
            Every time Baylor got it back out to a double-digit lead and looked like it would put the Sooners away, OU answered. Waco native Umoja Gibson drained a 3-pointer to pull the Sooners back within 75-68 with 2:13 left.
            Before fouling out, Mayer came up with one of the biggest plays of the game when he blocked a deep 3-pointer by Gibson and scored on a left-handed layup on the other end, extending the lead to 77-68 with 1:35 left. In his second game back from COVID protocols, Mayer finished with seven points, six boards, one block and a steal in 17 minutes.
            "The block was huge," Drew said. "He was right in front of me, I had a great view of it, and love that he went down and finished, a tough finish as well. Really pleased with Matthew's toughness. He had foul trouble all night. At the same time, he still gets six rebounds, makes a big block, 3-for-6 from the field and played with . . . I wonder if the tooth fairy still works at his age."
            OU cut it back to a five-point game with 34 seconds left, but Flagler, Akinjo and Flo Thamba hit 5-of-6 free throws in the last 27 seconds to ice the game.
            "We're fighters," Flagler said. "We have a lot of guys that are willing to put their best foot forward and finish the game. That's really all that matters. The Big 12 is the best conference in the country. Night in and night out, there's always going to be a really tough battle we face."
            Baylor dominated the boards, 34-16, and outscored the Sooners, 19-0, in second-chance points. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua gave the Bears their third double-figure scorer with 12 points and six rebounds, hitting 6-of-7 from the floor.
            "Proud of our work on the glass," Drew said. "You'd always rather teach after a win than a loss. We'll get better in a lot of areas, hopefully, but at the same time really pleased with 19-0 second-chance points, which was the difference in the area.
            Oklahoma had four double-figure scorers, led by Eastern Washington transfer Tanner Groves with 13 points and six rebounds. Gibson and Jalen Hill scored 12 points apiece, while Chargois added 10.
            "We came in here and we got crushed on the (boards)," first year OU head coach Porter Moser said. "That's the story. . . . They made a phenomenal play on that blocked shot of Mo (Gibson) coming out of that timeout. You've got to give them credit for that. But, very tough to swallow, just a very tough one."
            Baylor is scheduled to go back on the road to face TCU (10-1, 0-0) at 4 p.m. Saturday in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs had their first two games postponed because of COVID issues and haven't played a game since Dec. 21.