Baylor
12-2,1-0Big 12
Oklahoma State
8-6,0-1Big 12
No. 18 MBB Holds Off Oklahoma State, 75-70, For Overtime Victory
1/6/2024 4:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bears sink late free throws, come up with turnover to leave Stillwater with win
STILLWATER, Okla. – Two weeks after hitting their most-ever 3-pointers in the 35-year history of the Ferrell Center, the 18th-ranked Baylor Bears "couldn't buy a bucket from 3" in Saturday's Big 12 opener at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The nation's leader in 3-point shooting percentage coming into the game (44.8%), the Bears (12-2, 1-0) hit just 2-of-15 from outside the arc, but found other ways to come up with a hard-fought 75-70 overtime win over Oklahoma State that snapped the Cowboys' five-game winning streak.
"We came in as the No. 1 three-point shooting team in the country. I don't think we're leaving that way," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team won its ninth-straight in Stillwater. "Credit Oklahoma State for really good defense. And then what happens, if you don't get on a roll even if you get a good look, it's hard to get going."
Freshman 7-footer Yves Missi recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, while RayJ Dennis had a rare four-point, game-tying play late in regulation and finished with 18 points, four assists and five rebounds before fouling out with 1:27 left in the overtime period.
Taking the lead for good with a pair of free throws by Jalen Bridges, the Bears added two more from freshman Ja'Kobe Walter with 15.2 seconds left in OT after a timely steal. After Bryce Thompson missed a deep 3-pointer that would have tied it, Jayden Nunn fed Bridges for a breakaway dunk to ice it in the final seconds.
"That's a Big 12 game, that's what they're like," Drew said. "For all our new guys, I told them, 'Welcome to the Big 12,' because that's what you get each and every night. We saw it on film. Coach (Mike) Boynton has done a great job with this team. If they didn't have injuries early on, they'd be further along right now. But they're really playing well. Hats off to him."
Hitting six of its first nine shots, Baylor jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the first five minutes, when Walter knocked down a 3-pointer. But the Bears went through a four-minute scoring drought and were just 6-of-19 the rest of the first half in going up 31-27.
With neither team leading by more than six points, the Cowboys (8-6, 0-1) scored seven unanswered points and went up 54-52 on a Thompson layup with 6:49 left in regulation.
OSU took its biggest lead, 60-56, when 6-11 freshman Brandon Garrison hit a pair of free throws after an intentional foul by Langston Love and then threw one down off a pick-and-roll. Averaging 5.6 points per game, the McDonald's All-American was 7-for-7 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the line, finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
"I know Brandon. I loved him out of high school," Drew said of Garrison. "Loved his intangibles and his character. He's active and long and really made it tough to score around the rim. He had four blocked shots and probably altered a lot more and caused us to not take a lot more."
Baylor had missed 11 of its first 12 from 3-point range before Dennis connected from deep and added a follow free throw after being fouled by Quion Williams. That tied it up at 60-60 with 1:37 left in regulation, and Dennis missed a couple shots in the final 20 seconds to send it into overtime.
In the overtime period, Dennis scored on back-to-back floaters off the glass to give the Bears a 69-67 lead, but then fouled out on the Cowboys' next possession.
Langston Love scored 17 points off the bench, going 6-for-11 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the line, while Bridges had the final flurry to get to 10 points. Javon Small had 17 points and eight boards for OSU, with Thompson chipping in with 15 points despite going 0-for-6 from distance.
Without their normal boost from 3-pointers, Baylor outscored OSU, 50-36, in the paint, outrebounded the Cowboys, 40-31, and had 17 more bench points, 23-6.
"That's because we couldn't make a 3," Drew said of the Bears scoring the bulk of their points in the paint. "I think they did a good job making it hard to shoot 3's, so we had more paint opportunities. Then, guys did the right thing. If you're not making 3's, get to the rim."
Returning home, Baylor will host 12th-ranked BYU (12-2, 0-1) at 8 p.m. Tuesday and then Cincinnati (12-2, 1-0) at 7 p.m. next Saturday, Jan. 13, at Foster Pavilion. In a matchup of Big 12 newcomers, the Bearcats rallied from a double-digit first-half deficit to upset BYU, 71-60, Saturday night in Provo, Utah.
