No. 17/17 MBB Rallies Past Arkansas to Win Sixth-Straight
1/28/2023 5:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Keyonte George once again is a powerhouse for the Bears
WACO, Texas – Keyonte George had 24 and LJ Cryer chipped in 20, leading No. 17/17 Baylor to its sixth-straight win, a 67-64 comeback result over Arkansas, in front of 10,627, tied for the second-largest crowd in Ferrell Center history.
Baylor (16-5) rallied past Arkansas (14-7) with a second-half comeback using strong outings from George and Cryer. George had 14 of his 24 in the second half, including three key baskets inside the final three minutes to help the Bears take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The win came after Baylor missed 17 of 18 shots to end the first half, allowing the Razorbacks to use a 13-0 run to close the first half and open the second, taking a 35-27 lead in the opening seconds of the final half.
HIGHLIGHTS
Cryer went 6-of-13 with 20 points and George was 8-of-20 with 24 points. The two guards combined to go 12-of-12 from the free-throw line.
The Bears also got 10 points and seven boards from Jalen Bridges. Adam Flagler finished with five points and three rebounds.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Bears were able to secure the win despite shooting 34 percent from the field. Arkansas shot 51 percent and both teams totaled 35 rebounds. Arkansas had 16 assists to Baylor's five.
The Bears went 21-of-24 from the free-throw line and drilled six 3-pointers.
THE RUNDOWN
Cryer picked up where he left off from Monday's Kansas win, splashing a 3-pointer out of the gate to open the scoring. The Bears opened up a lead early, scoring nine of the first 11 points and after a jumper and a second triple from Cryer, the Bears owned a 14-5 lead. At the under-12-minute media timeout, following a Caleb Lohner layup, Baylor sported a 16-8 lead, with Cryer accounting for 10 points.
A Keyonte George triple pushed the lead to 11 but Arkansas scored five straight to narrow the lead to 19-13 with just under eight minutes left. The Razorbacks made five straight during a 12-1 run, including seven straight, to tie the game with just over six minutes left.
The Bears answered with five straight to take a 25-20 lead, including three from George and two at the charity stripe from Cryer.
An 11-0 run from the Razorbacks led to a 33-27 lead at halftime. Cryer led the Bears with 12 points, with George chipping in 10 points. Ricky Council IV had 12 points to lead the Razorbacks in the first half. Arkansas shot 58 percent in the first stanza, holding the Bears to 24 percent on 8-of-33. The Razorbacks held a 23-15 margin on the boards and a 20-8 lead in points in the paint.
A Council jumper opened the second half to give Arkansas an eight-point lead before Bridges and Cryer each netted buckets inside the arc to cut the lead to four.
Flager's first bucket of the game and a transition finish from Bridges cut the lead to 38-35 with 16 minutes left. Cryer hit a pair at the line to narrow the lead to 40-39 with 14 minutes left.
After a pair of Arkansas buckets, Bridges stroked a 3-pointer and George finished an and-1 to give the Bears a 45-44 lead, their first advantage since 27-26 with 3:11 left in the first half.
Love and Council traded triples and Flagler hit one at the line out of the under-eight-minute media timeout to even the game at 49. Cryer's runner off the glass snapped four-straight for Arkansas and cut the lead to 53-51 with 5:35 left. Flagler evened the game with a pair at the line with 4:51 remaining.
Flo Thamba hit two at the free-throw line to give Baylor a two-point lead, starting a stretch of six-straight BU points that saw George sink a jumper and finish at the rim. After an Arkansas basket, George drilled a 3-pointer for a seven-point lead. Bridges hit one at the line with 26 seconds left to keep the lead at four and after an Arkansas and-1, Cryer hit two at the line with 10 seconds left.
George hit two at the line with four seconds left and the Bears elected to foul before Arkansas could attempt a game-tying 3-pointer. Arkansas missed its free throw on the front-end of a one-and-one and the 3-pointer from Joseph Pinion bounced off the side of the backboard and Flagler grabbed the rebound to end the game.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears return to action on Monday, traveling to face No. 10/10 Texas at 8 p.m. on ESPN and the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield.
17/17 Baylor 67, Arkansas 64
Waco, Texas (Ferrell Center)
Jan. 28, 2023
Baylor (16-5) rallied past Arkansas (14-7) with a second-half comeback using strong outings from George and Cryer. George had 14 of his 24 in the second half, including three key baskets inside the final three minutes to help the Bears take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The win came after Baylor missed 17 of 18 shots to end the first half, allowing the Razorbacks to use a 13-0 run to close the first half and open the second, taking a 35-27 lead in the opening seconds of the final half.
HIGHLIGHTS
Cryer went 6-of-13 with 20 points and George was 8-of-20 with 24 points. The two guards combined to go 12-of-12 from the free-throw line.
The Bears also got 10 points and seven boards from Jalen Bridges. Adam Flagler finished with five points and three rebounds.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Bears were able to secure the win despite shooting 34 percent from the field. Arkansas shot 51 percent and both teams totaled 35 rebounds. Arkansas had 16 assists to Baylor's five.
The Bears went 21-of-24 from the free-throw line and drilled six 3-pointers.
THE RUNDOWN
Cryer picked up where he left off from Monday's Kansas win, splashing a 3-pointer out of the gate to open the scoring. The Bears opened up a lead early, scoring nine of the first 11 points and after a jumper and a second triple from Cryer, the Bears owned a 14-5 lead. At the under-12-minute media timeout, following a Caleb Lohner layup, Baylor sported a 16-8 lead, with Cryer accounting for 10 points.
A Keyonte George triple pushed the lead to 11 but Arkansas scored five straight to narrow the lead to 19-13 with just under eight minutes left. The Razorbacks made five straight during a 12-1 run, including seven straight, to tie the game with just over six minutes left.
The Bears answered with five straight to take a 25-20 lead, including three from George and two at the charity stripe from Cryer.
An 11-0 run from the Razorbacks led to a 33-27 lead at halftime. Cryer led the Bears with 12 points, with George chipping in 10 points. Ricky Council IV had 12 points to lead the Razorbacks in the first half. Arkansas shot 58 percent in the first stanza, holding the Bears to 24 percent on 8-of-33. The Razorbacks held a 23-15 margin on the boards and a 20-8 lead in points in the paint.
A Council jumper opened the second half to give Arkansas an eight-point lead before Bridges and Cryer each netted buckets inside the arc to cut the lead to four.
Flager's first bucket of the game and a transition finish from Bridges cut the lead to 38-35 with 16 minutes left. Cryer hit a pair at the line to narrow the lead to 40-39 with 14 minutes left.
After a pair of Arkansas buckets, Bridges stroked a 3-pointer and George finished an and-1 to give the Bears a 45-44 lead, their first advantage since 27-26 with 3:11 left in the first half.
Love and Council traded triples and Flagler hit one at the line out of the under-eight-minute media timeout to even the game at 49. Cryer's runner off the glass snapped four-straight for Arkansas and cut the lead to 53-51 with 5:35 left. Flagler evened the game with a pair at the line with 4:51 remaining.
Flo Thamba hit two at the free-throw line to give Baylor a two-point lead, starting a stretch of six-straight BU points that saw George sink a jumper and finish at the rim. After an Arkansas basket, George drilled a 3-pointer for a seven-point lead. Bridges hit one at the line with 26 seconds left to keep the lead at four and after an Arkansas and-1, Cryer hit two at the line with 10 seconds left.
George hit two at the line with four seconds left and the Bears elected to foul before Arkansas could attempt a game-tying 3-pointer. Arkansas missed its free throw on the front-end of a one-and-one and the 3-pointer from Joseph Pinion bounced off the side of the backboard and Flagler grabbed the rebound to end the game.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears return to action on Monday, traveling to face No. 10/10 Texas at 8 p.m. on ESPN and the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield.
17/17 Baylor 67, Arkansas 64
Waco, Texas (Ferrell Center)
Jan. 28, 2023
- Baylor is 16-5 and Arkansas is 14-7.
- Baylor has won six-consecutive games.
- The Bears are 8-2 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge with the most wins of any team in either league. BU is 5-0 in the Challenge at the Ferrell Center.
- The Bears are 48-97 all-time vs. Arkansas and are 32-38 in games played in Waco.
- Saturday's attendance of 10,627 marked the second-largest crowd in Ferrell Center history.
- Baylor has won three-consecutive meetings in the series, including a neutral-site meeting in 2009 and in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
- Baylor won its second-straight game when trailing at halftime. They were 0-2 on the season prior to that.
- The Bears had two 20+ point scorers for the second time in 2022-23, also doing the trick vs. Kansas State.
- Baylor is 50-5 in home games over the last four seasons.
- Baylor head coach Scott Drew is 433-240 all-time in his 21st season as a head coach and is 413-227 in his 20th year at Baylor. Drew is 3-1 all-time vs. the Razorbacks.
- The starting lineup of Adam Flagler, Keyonte George, LJ Cryer, Jalen Bridges and Flo Thamba was used for an eighth-straight game, that combo is 12-4 this season.
- Cryer finished with 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting with two rebounds and an assist.
- It was Cryer's ninth career 20-point game and his 4th this season. BU is 9-0 when the junior scores 20+ points.
- Cryer reached double figures for the 12th time in 19 games on the year and for the 57th time in his career. Baylor is 47-10 in his double-figure scoring games.
- George had 24 points on 8 of 20 shooting with three rebounds and three assists.
- George has scored in double figures in 17 games on the year, with the Bears going 12-5 in those outings.
- George has nine 20+ point games, the most by a freshman since Aaron Bruce in 2004-05.
- Bridges totaled 10 points and a team-leading seven rebounds. It marked his seventh straight double-figure scoring outing of the year.
- Thamba played in his 138th career game, the fourth most in program history and one shy of equaling Quincy Acy (2008-12) for third all-time.
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