No. 9 MBB Falls Short After First-Half Surge to No. 5 Kansas

Saturday, February 18

Lawrence, Kan.

3 PM

Baylor

20-7,9-5Big 12

Kansas

22-5,10-4Big 12

Baylor

Kansas

No. 9 MBB Falls Short After First-Half Surge to No. 5 Kansas

2/18/2023 5:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bears fall 87-71 in Allen Fieldhouse

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            LAWRENCE, Kan. – Unable to hold on to a 16-point first-half lead, the ninth-ranked Baylor men lost for the 20^th time in 21 trips to Allen Fieldhouse, falling to No. 5 Kansas, 87-71, Saturday afternoon.
            Jalen Wilson, who had a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds, started the Jayhawks' comeback with a three-point play at the end of the first half that made it a 13-point game at intermission.
            Kansas (22-5, 10-4), which kept pace with sixth-ranked Texas (21-6, 10-4), started the second half with 10 unanswered points and took the lead, 50-49, on back-to-back 3-pointers by Dajuan Harris and Gradey Dick just 5 ½ minutes into the second half.
            The Bears (20-7, 9-5), who had a four-game winning streak snapped, never led again after that.
            Kansas scored 55 points in the second half, shooting 63.3% overall, 5-of-10 from outside the arc and 12-of-13 from the line.
            Adam Flagler, Keyonte George and LJ Cryer combined to score the Bears' first 42 points, helping the Bears get out to a 15-point lead. Jalen Bridges hit a 3-pointer for the first points outside of the guard trio and extended the lead to 42-29 before Wilson's three-point play.
            Flagler had 22 points and seven assists, George added 20 points and five boards, and Cryer scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half. KJ Adams scored 17, Dick 16 and Harris 14 for Kansas, which is 20-1 all-time against the Bears in Lawrence.
            Staying in the Sunflower State, Baylor will face 12^th-ranked Kansas State (20-7, 8-6) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Manhattan, Kan. The Wildcats, under first-year head coach and longtime Baylor assistant Jerome Tang, had lost four of their last five before Saturday's 61-55 win over No. 19 Iowa State.