National Basketball Association
Baylor 89, Texas Southern 63
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Where: Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas
Officials:
# Don Daily, # Chris Rastatter, # Byron Jarrett
Attendance:
5347
By The Sports Xchange
WACO, Texas -- Fourth-ranked Baylor's inside-outside combination proved too much for Texas Southern as the Bears raced to an 89-63 victory Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center.
Baylor (12-0) scored 44 points in the paint and hit eight 3-pointers to stiff-arm the Tigers (4-9).
Baylor forwards Johnathan Motley, Jo Lual-Acuil and Terry Maston scored 17, 14 and 12 points respectively. Guard Manu Lecomte scored 14 points and added seven assists, and guard Al Freeman had 10 points.
The Bears made 8 of 14 from 3-point range, including a pair of key treys by Lecomte early in the second half.
"We were so efficient inside, we just didn't want to take 3s unless they were the right ones," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Manu got going a little bit. I thought the guards were really unselfish. They did a really good job getting the ball inside."
Guard Kevin Scott led Texas Southern with 15 points. Guard Demontrae Jefferson added 10, all in the second half, and forward Marvin Jones had 10.
Tigers coach Mike Davis said his team doesn't have the depth to prepare for or keep up with a team such as Baylor, which had 10 players play at least seven minutes.
Texas Southern has played four Top 25 opponents this season, but said Baylor is slightly ahead of the rest.
"They're the best team we've played," Davis said. "I thought last year their talent was better, but the team this year is unbelievable. Coach Drew is doing an unbelievable job."
The Bears led by 15 to 18 points for most of the contest, then pulled away with a 10-2 run late in the second half.
Maston highlighted the late run with a forceful alley-oop slam on a pass from forward Ishmail Wainright.
"Our team's done a great job of getting a lead and then building on it rather than getting a lead and letting them get back in," Drew said.
Texas Southern went seven minutes without a field goal in the first half. The Tigers struggled to find open shots against Baylor's length inside and they struggled to make open looks.
Baylor took advantage of the Texas Southern drought to build an 18-1 run. Freeman and Motley each scored four points during the streak and guard King McClure added a 3-pointer.
"Anytime you do anything in basketball that you don't practice on a daily basis, it takes you a while," Davis said about getting used to the Bears' zone defense. "We don't practice for anything like that."
But Texas Southern bounced back to keep Baylor from running away in the first half.
Scott got inside the Baylor zone for two jumpers and two layups and hit a 3-pointer. Scott scored 15 points in the first half and played a key role in lifting the Tigers' shooting percentage to 32 percent by halftime.
Freeman led Baylor with 10 points and Motley had nine in the first 20 minutes. The Bears took a 40-26 advantage to the break.
Baylor shot 50 percent from the field in the first half.
Overall, the Bears outshot the Tigers 59.3 percent to 39.3 percent.
Baylor enters Big 12 play with an unblemished record, but the Bears know the challenge of this season has just begun.
"We needed that win in order to stay undefeated before the break," Lecomte said. "Now it's a new season."
NOTES: Baylor and Texas Southern combined to play eight ranked opponents this season. They have a common opponent in Louisville, which defeated Texas Southern 102-71 and lost to Baylor 66-63. ... Baylor holds a 10-0 lead in the series with Texas Southern. All 10 games were played in Waco. ... Texas Southern has not played a home game this season and won't play at home until Jan. 14 against Grambling. ... At the start of the day, Baylor was one of six remaining undefeated NCAA Division I teams.
Top Game Performances
| Texas Southern |
|
Baylor |
|
Kevin Scott 15 |
Scoring |
Johnathan Motley 17 |
|
Demontrae Jefferson 5 |
Assists |
Manu Lecomte 7 |
|
Derrick Griffin 9 |
Rebounds |
Johnathan Motley 11 |
|
Tyree Bynum 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Johnathan Motley 5 |
|
Dulani Robinson 3 |
Steals |
Manu Lecomte 2 |
|
Stephan Bennett 1 |
Blocks |
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Texas Southern
|
63 |
39.3 |
5-20 |
10-12 |
12 |
25 |
1 |
4 |
11 |
| Baylor
|
89 |
59.3 |
8-14 |
11-15 |
21 |
34 |
8 |
3 |
8 |
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