No. 11 Baylor tops Tech in Waco

WACO, Texas – No. 11 Baylor turned a four-point halftime lead into an 89-62 win over Texas Tech on Saturday at the Ferrell Center to complete the season sweep in the series.

The Red Raiders (12-11, 1-9 Big 12) were down just 38-34 at halftime but would see the Bears (17-6, 6-4) hit six 3-pointers in the second half while Tech was limited to 5-for-20 on 3-pointers in the game. BU was 10-for-24 from beyond the arc in the game and would also own a 36-30 scoring advantage in the paint. Tech was coming off an 80-77 overtime win over No. 13 Iowa State on Monday but had its two-game winning streak end and is now 1-8 against ranked opponents this season.

“It goes back to their guards,” Texas Tech coach Mark Adams said. “They are outstanding. Baylor is one of the best offensive squads in the country. They are so explosive. We were trying to keep them in check and did pretty good in the first half. The dam broke though and once they get going you have to start scrambling. It’s difficult to play Baylor from behind. You have to stay close or they’ll get away from you. We just didn’t play one of our best games and you have to give Baylor credit for that.”

Tech will play at Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Stillwater, Oklahoma before hosting No. 7 Kansas State next Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

De’Vion Harmon led Tech with 20 points, while Jaylon Tyson recorded his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. His 19 points matches his career high that he also had in the first meeting against Baylor. Tyson was 8-for-14 from the field with three 3-pointers and also added two assists and a steal. Lamar Washington finished the game with seven points and five assists, while Kerwin Walton and Kevin Obanor scored six points each. Obanor had scored 20 or more points in three straight games, including going for 24 points in the comeback win over Iowa State on Monday.

Tech finished the game 24-for-55 from the field after going 10-for-27 (37.0 percent) in the second half. The Red Raiders were outscored by a 51-28 margin in that second half.
Jalen Bridges led Baylor with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Keyonte George added 17 points, five rebounds and three assists. Adam Flagler had three 3-pointers, finishing with 13 points to go along with eight assists.

Tech trailed 38-34 at halftime with Harmon leading the team with 12 points and Tyson adding seven points and five rebounds. Tech shot 14-for-28 (50 percent) from the field but were only 2-for-8 on 3-pointers with Washington and Tyson hitting one each. Walton had six points and Obanor had four, including hitting a pair of free throws with 20 seconds remaining in the half to cut the deficit to four going into the locker room. BU was 4-for-12 on 3-pointers and were being led by George and Flagler who had 10 points each. Tech led 20-10 in scoring in the paint and had a 15-14 rebounding advantage through 20 minutes of play.

“We’ve had some good games and overall I feel like we’re getting better,” Adams said. “But today was a step back. At least the second half was.”

GAME TRACKER & NOTES
Tech started the game with the group of Washington, Tyson, Harmon, Walton, Obanor together for the first time this season… Obanor and Harmon have started all 23 games this season
BU won the tip and scored on its opening possession with a Flagler 3-pointer for a 3-0 lead… Obanor scored on Tech’s first possession with a layup assisted by Washington
Washington hit Tech’s first 3-pointer off an assist from Obanor to tie the game at 6-6… Washington came into the game 2-for-16 on 3-pointers before making his first shot against BU
Tyson gave Tech its first lead with a 3-pointer (15:42) off an assist from Harmon… The Red Raiders took that lead into the first media timeout of the first half that came at the 13:54 mark
Walton would slash to the basket for his first points of the game that gave Tech a 13-10 lead going into the second media timeout of the half… Tech started the game 5-for-10 from the field while BU was 4-for-11… Both teams had hit two 3-pointers nine minutes into the game
Harmon made back-to-back layups to push Tech’s lead to 17-12 with 9:51 remaining in the half
BU regained the lead with a 7-0 run that had it up two on a Flagler layup… Batcho stopped the run with a layup – his first points of the game – to make it 19-19 with seven minutes remaining in the half
Harmon continued sparking the Tech offense with another pair of layups, the second a fastbreak runner where he was fouled going into the final media timeout… He would make the free throw to cut BU’s lead to 29-28 and give him 10 points
Harmon would stop a 7-0 run by Baylor to make it a 38-32 deficit with 1:15 on the clock followed by Obanor hitting a pair of free throws to make it a four-point game going into halftime
Harmon continued his hot streak coming out of halftime, hitting a midrange jumper for Tech’s opening points to cut it to 38-36… Harmon made it 40-38 with another layup that gave him 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting at the time
Tyson came up with a steal and hit a jumper to stop a 6-0 run by Baylor… He had nine points and five rebounds after the play that made it a 46-40 game five minutes into the second half
BU took a 51-40 lead with Bridges making a fastbreak layup and hitting a free throw… It was the first double-digit lead of the game and was followed by a 3-pointer by George to push the lead to 54-40 and force a Tech timeout with BU on a 14-2 run
Harmon responded with a 3-pointer coming out of the timeout to give him 19 points and make it a 54-43 game with 13 minutes to play
BU led 67-45 on a Love 3-pointer that extended an 8-0 run… It was the first 20+ lead and grew to 70-45 on another 3-pointer, this time by Bridges… BU was 6-for-10 on 3-pointers in the second and 10-for-22 in the game after the Bridges 3 that gave BU a 25-point lead
Tyson would slow an 11-0 run with a 3-pointer that gave him 12 points… BU led 72-48 with a Thamba dunk on the other end

Release provided by WES BLOOMQUIST Texas Tech Athletics