Second half Baylor surge downs shorthanded Texas Tech, 79-73
A gutsy effort from Texas Tech fell short against Baylor, as the Bears surged in the second half to give the Red Raiders their third-straight loss, 79-73, Tuesday night at the Foster Pavilion in Waco. Tech was able to cut the deficit to as little as five on crafty work from Joe Toussaint with less than a minute remaining, but the Bears were ultimately able to pull away to win their third-in-a-row.
After a cold first half from the 4th-highest rated offense in the country, Baylor flipped the script in the second stanza, as the Bears shot 65 percent (13-20) from the field in the back half, chipping in 15 free throws in the process. A pair of runs spanning 13-0 and 6-0 propelled Baylor’s lead to its largest of the game of 15 points. RayJ Dennis, one of the Big 12’s elite facilitating guards, took matters into his own hands in the contest– the senior led the Bears with 21 points.
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The odds were stacked against Tech from well before tip off. The illness bug that held out Lamar Washington in the team’s last outing continued to plague the rest of the squad. The Red Raiders’ lone 7-footer Warren Washington missed the action Tuesday, and the rest of the squad was visibly fatigued throughout the game.
Washington’s length and rebounding prowess was sorely missed all night, as the Bears dominated the boards 33-24, including 11 snagged on the offensive glass, six of those in the opening minutes of play.
With much smaller defenders guarding him most of the night, Baylor freshman big man Yves Missi was a roll. The 7-foot Cameroon native finished the night as the Bears’ second-leading scorer with 17 points.
The grit and toughness that Grant McCasland’s Red Raiders have played with all season long persisted against Baylor for much of the game.
Without Washington, Robert Jennings made his first start in over a calendar year, and KyeRon Lindsay made his first appearance since New Year’s Day. Despite both succumbing to foul trouble in the first half, accumulating three fouls each, the tandem remained aggressive against the much-bigger Baylor bigs.
The Red Raiders led for much of the first half, the result of both hardening on the glass and the Bears going cold from the field. Baylor, after having shot 45 and 52 percent from beyond the arc in its previous two games, shot a meager 23 percent from the arc in the first half.
It was a valiant effort from the Red Raiders, who had four scorers finish in double figures. Toussaint led Tech with 18 points, Darrion Williams trailed not far behind him with 17 of his own on 6-9 shooting.
Toussaint’s contribution was his most since he put down 19 against UT-Arlington in December. Chance McMillian scored double digits for the fourth time in five games, chipping in 15. Pop Isaacs added 11 on 4-12 shooting from the field.
The Red Raiders will have a few days to try to rest and recuperate before taking the court again Saturday against Central Florida. Tip off from the United Supermarkets Arena against the Knights is set for 3:00 p.m.
