BENCH MOB

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – Baylor basketball's starters accounted for 69% of the team's scoring in Sunday's 78-69 win over Washington, with Tennessee transfer Cameron Carr leading the way again with 16 points.

But the Bears (2-0) don't win this one without the significant contributions off the bench from sophomore guard Isaac Williams IV and 6-9 senior center Caden Powell. Williams scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half, while Powell notched his sixth-career double-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two of Baylor's four blocks.

"I like how we don't get rattled through adversity, and we all believe in each other," said Williams, who was 5-of-8 from the floor and hit his only 3-point attempt. "If they go on a little run or whatever, we know we're still in it. And we're always going to be in it, no matter the time of the game. Just us believing and fighting through adversity."

On a rebuilt Baylor team that had no returning experience, Powell has quickly been embraced by his coaches, teammates and fans. When he capped off a double-double with his 10^th rebound of the night with 20 seconds left, the players mobbed him after the game ended.

"Really happy for Caden," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Caden is someone who is such a great teammate. Seeing the team celebrate his double-double was really cool. You can always tell who the players really think is a great teammate, because it's real easy to cheer for those guys."

As the only true center to play in Baylor's eight-man rotation, Powell had his hands full with a Washington frontcourt that had 6-11 Franck Kepnang at center and 6-11 Hannes Steinbach at forward, with 6-10 Rutgers transfer Lathan Sommerville coming off the bench.

The Huskies (2-1) did win the rebounding battle, 42-33, but Powell more than held his own despite a huge size disparity.

"We just wanted to keep them off the glass, do our job inside," said Powell, who prepped at nearby Midway High School before stops at Wyoming and Rice. "The motivation was, we just wanted to get a win. And we felt like this was a game that we can show and prove to everybody that we're a good team. Whatever we had to do to get the win, I was willing to do it."

A two-time Oklahoma state champion at Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy who transferred to Baylor after one season at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Williams provided instant offense when he subbed in at the 17:23 mark in the second half. He knocked down a 3-pointer, then scored on a layup to push the lead to nine, 51-42.

"Just staying aggressive, and my teammates believing in me," Williams said. "When I'm staying aggressive, they keep telling me, keep going, no matter how I'm doing in the game. I'll just say it was my guys fueling me to keep going. I'm going to try to make the right play every time. Whether that's me scoring or one of my teammates scoring, I'm going to try to make the right play."

One of Williams' most impressive plays came late in the game when he picked up a loose ball off a turnover by Steinbach, a projected first-round NBA Draft pick, and dunked it to give the Bears a double-digit lead, 70-60, with just over five minutes left.

"In the game, there's not really too much going through my mind," Williams said. "I just saw the ball, picked it up and I'm there, might as well dunk it."

Especially being from Waco, Powell said he was "nervous the whole day" while waiting to play his second game in the Foster Pavilion.

"Being able to play at the Foster Pavilion was something I never expected," Powell said, "but something I'm extremely grateful for. At the mid-major level, you walk in and the crowd's there, and they're just getting on you for absolutely nothing. So, it was great to be on the other side of that. But also, just extremely blessed and fortunate to be there in this situation and be there with my teammates."

Showing off their balance, the Bears finished with six double-figure scorers, including freshman Tounde Yessoufou with 13, Dan Skillings Jr. with 12 and Oregon transfer Michael Rataj with 11.

Drew said the 6-8 Rataj was pumped to play against fellow German Steinbach, who recorded a double-double with 10 points, 15 boards and three of the Huskies' four blocks.

"(Steinbach) is somebody who most people feel will be a lottery pick at the end of this year," Drew said. "A lot of people I trust say that. He's a talented player. I know Mikey was excited about the opportunity."

After finishing off a three-game homestand with a matchup against Tarleton State (1-2) at 8 p.m. Friday at Foster Pavilion, the Bears will trek to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival. Baylor faces No. 23 Creighton at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, followed by 13^th-ranked St. John's at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25, with the third and final game determined by the results of the first two games.

Players Mentioned

Cameron Carr

Caden Powell

Michael Rataj

Dan Skillings Jr.

Isaac Williams IV

Tounde Yessoufou

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