MBB Wins Lights-Out Game Against Oklahoma State, 74-58

Saturday, January 14

Waco, Texas

5 PM

Baylor

12-5,2-3Big 12

Oklahoma State

9-8,1-4Big 12

Oklahoma St.

Baylor

MBB Wins Lights-Out Game Against Oklahoma State, 74-58

1/14/2023 7:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Flagler scores in double figures for the 17th-consecutive game

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Playing its most complete game in conference, Baylor won the battle of boards, held Oklahoma State to 38% shooting, got balanced scoring and turned the ball over just 11 times in dominating the Cowboys from tip to final buzzer in a 74-58 victory Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.
            LJ Cryer hit the first of his four 3-pointers just 17 seconds into the game, giving the Bears (12-5, 2-3) a lead they would never relinquish. Baylor scored the first 13 points and led by as many as 28 in a rare Big 12 blowout, beating the Cowboys (9-8, 1-4) for the 13^th time in the last 16 meetings.
            "I felt like everything started to settle down," Cryer said of Wednesday's 83-78 road win at West Virginia. "From my perspective, everybody was uptight after those losses. Just a lot of tension. But after getting that win, I felt like we loosened up and we're getting back to having fun again. Basketball is supposed to be fun. I feel like when we're out there having fun, we play our best."
            Baylor was its best in the first four minutes, hitting its first four shots and taking a 13-0 lead when Jalen Bridges knocked down a corner 3-pointer. It took OSU almost five minutes to get on the board with an Avery Anderson layup.
            "Last year, we got off to a bad start at home, and they beat us on our home floor," said Cryer, who hit 4-of-5 from outside the arc and finished with a game-high 16 points. "We wanted to make sure that didn't happen again. Last year, they got off to a good start and we ended losing by two. That first run can be the difference-maker in the game."
            After the Cowboys hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a 10-0 run to get back within two, Adam Flagler stopped it with a 3-pointer and Flo Thamba finished off an 11-2 spurt by the Bears that pushed the lead back to double digits in a hurry.
            "Gradually, our staff and our upperclassmen have done a really good job of buying in and trying to improve and make things more difficult," Baylor coach Scott Drew said of an improved defense. "Bit by bit, we're getting there. This league is so good that you can improve and not show up in the win-loss column. But we are doing the things required to give us a better chance to win now."
            Shooting 53% from 3-point range in the first half (8-of-15), Baylor rode the hot hands of Cryer and Flagler to go into the break with a comfortable 39-23 lead.
            Working the ball inside more at the start of the second half, the Bears stretched it to a 25-point cushion, 59-34, at the 12:26 mark when freshman Josh Ojianwuna knocked down a fade-away jumper.
            "That just goes to Flo and Josh (Ojianwuna) setting good screens," Cryer said, "because in the beginning of the game, obviously, I was getting good looks. If they set good screens, they're going to have miscommunications and put two on me or whoever. . . . But whenever they set good screens, it actually helps them, too. Just stick to the plan, and if they're open, we're going to find them. And today, they were open."
            Less than two minutes later, the lights in the Ferrell Center went out with Keyonte George at the free throw line with 11:00 left in the game. The teams returned to the locker rooms during a 22-minute delay while power was restored.
            "I can tell you, the lights going out, coaches don't know what to say for a third time," Drew said. "We're good for two, before the game and halftime. But the third one (at the delay), credit the guys for coming out and finishing the game and not letting Oklahoma State make a run after a citywide power outage. I appreciative everybody working to get the lights back on."
            Coming off a career-high 32 points in Wednesday's win at West Virginia, George hit just 2-of-8 shots from the floor and scored eight points, but contributed in other ways with five assists and a career-high eight rebounds with no turnovers.
            "When young players have a great game, normally if they're not getting shots or they're not scoring, they try to force things," Drew said. "He really let the game come down to him. . . . Every night, you're not going to score 32. And when defenses key on you, you're now getting other people opportunities to score and be successful. I thought Keyonte really did a great job in that."
            The Bears led by as many as 28 in the second half, but OSU hit its last four shots and outscored Baylor, 22-10, down the stretch to make the final score closer. Caleb Asberry had 14 and Anderson 11 for the Cowboys.
            Thamba was 6-of-6 from the line and finished two points shy of his season-high with 12. Bridges scored in double-figures for the third-straight game with 12 points and eight boards, while Flagler ran his double-figure streak to 17 games with 11 points and eight assists.
            Looking for its third-straight win, Baylor will go back on the road to face Texas Tech (10-7, 0-5) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. The Red Raiders had a nine-point halftime lead on the road at 10^th-ranked Texas, but dropped their fifth in a row, 72-70.