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1/1 Baylor Rallies Past Kansas State 77-68

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Baylor junior guard Manu Lecomte scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, as the top-ranked Bears rallied past No. 25 Kansas State, 77-68, on Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out crowd of 12,528 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.

 

K-State (13-4, 2-3 Big 12) fought hard against Baylor (16-1, 4-1 Big 12), leading 44-43 with just over 10 minutes to play. However, the Wildcats lost the lead just moments later, as the Bears scored 6 straight points out of a timeout to recapture the lead and the momentum en route to their fourth straight win in the series.

 

K-State pulled within 71-66 with 31 seconds to go on a layup senior D.J. Johnson, but Baylor made six free throws in the final 27 seconds to prevent any further comeback.

 

The Wildcats connected on 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the field, including 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from behind the arc. The team shot 52.4 percent (11-of-21) after halftime and 86.7 percent (13-of-15) from the charity stripe.

 

Baylor finished at 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the field, including 55.6 percent (15-of-27) after halftime.

 

Johnson paced four Wildcats in double figures with 20 points on 9-of-13 field goals, including 6-of-6 in the second half, while sophomore guardBarry Brown and freshman Xavier Sneed finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Sophomore guard Kamau Stokes added 10 points, 8 of which came in the first half.

 

Lecomte was one of three Bears in double figures, scoring a game-high 26 points, 18 of which came in the second half, while senior forwardIshmail Wainright and junior guard Al Freeman each added 15 points.

 

The Basics

  • Final Score: 25/rv Kansas State 68, 1/1 Baylor 77
  • Records: Kansas State 13-4, 2-3 Big 12 // Baylor 16-1, 4-1 Big 12
  • Attendance: 12,528
  • Next Game: Wednesday, Jan. 18 // at Oklahoma State // 8 p.m. CT // ESPNU

 

The Short Story

  • Top-ranked Baylor held off K-State’s rally in the second half to pick up their fourth-straight victory against the Wildcats, 77-68 in front of a sold out Bramlage Coliseum.
  • K-State fought to within 73-68 with 21 seconds remaining, but failed to get any closer as Baylor made six free throws over that period to ice the game.
  • The Wildcats connected on 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the field, including 52.4 percent (11-of-21) in the second half, while the Bears shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56), including 55.6 percent (15-of-27) after halftime.
  • Senior D.J. Johnson collected his fifth career 20-point game, including his third this season, with a team-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while freshman Xavier Sneed scored 12 points off the bench.
  • Junior Manu Lecomte scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half.

 

How It Happened | First Half

  • Both teams opened the game with shutdown defense, allowing 5 points apiece in the first 5 minutes.
  • Baylor took the lead 8-5 on a Johnathan Motley layup before redshirt freshman Isaiah Maurice sparked a 7-0 K-State run in which he recorded a block and a basket to give the team a 12-8 lead with 11:30 to play.
  • The Bears went on a 10-0 run out of the timeout with 3-pointers from Freeman and Lecomte to take an 18-12 lead with 7:44 to go before halftime.
  • The Wildcats answered the run by hitting three 3-pointers in a row from Brown, sophomore Dean Wade and senior Wesley Iwundu to cut the lead to 22-21 at the 5:56 mark.
  • The Bears scored five of the next seven points to push ahead, 27-23, with 4:11 before halftime.
  • A Stokes 3-pointer gave K-State its first lead 28-27 with 1:30 to play in the opening half. It was the Wildcats’ first lead since they led 12-10 with 9:48 to play in the half.
  • Baylor scored four straight points on back-to-back layups before Sneed’s jumper sent K-State to the locker room down just 31-30
  • K-State connected on 36.7 percent (11-of-30), including 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from behind the arc. Baylor shot 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from the field and 40 percent (4-of-10) from 3-point range.
  • Stokes led the way for the Wildcats in the first half, scoring 8 points on 2-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-5 from long distance. Johnson added 6 points and 3 rebounds.

 

How It Happened | Second Half

  • Baylor came out firing to start the second half, scoring five straight to take a 36-30 lead at the 17:48 mark.
  • K-State closed the margin to 39-37 by scoring seven of the next 10 points capped by a 3-pointer by Brown with 16:09 to play.
  • A Sneed 3-pointer gave the Wildcats the lead at 42-41 with 13:40 remaining to cap a 5-0 run.
  • After Baylor regained the lead, another Sneed 3-pointer gave K-State a 47-45 edge with 10:00 to play.
  • The Bears responded with an 8-0 run behind 5 points from Lecomte to take a 53-47 lead with 7:54 to go.
  • Both teams went back-and-forth before Johnson blocked Motley and finished with a layup on the other end to pull within five, 58-53, with 5:39 to play in the game.
  • K-State used 5-of-6 shooting from the free throw line to stay within 64-58 with 3:44 remaining.
  • The Wildcats used a Johnson layup to pull within 71-66 with 30 seconds to play.
  • Baylor made six free throws in the last 27 seconds to ice the game and pick up their fourth straight victory, 77-68, over K-State.
  • K-State connected on 52.4 percent (11-of-21) of its field goals in the second half and went 86.7 percent (13-of-15) from the free throw line, while Baylor hit on 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field, including 50 percent (5-of-10) from long range. Johnson led the way for the Wildcats with 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting to go with 3 blocks.

 

Beyond the Boxscore

  • K-State lost consecutive games for the first time this season and by its greatest margin (9).
  • The loss snapped the Wildcats’ 11-game winning streak at home venues, including a 10-game streak at Bramlage Coliseum… The 10-game streak was the 10th-longest in the arena’s history.
  • Baylor now leads the all-time series, 18-17, while K-State is now 10-8 at home in the series… The Bears have won 6 of the last 7 games in the series, including 4 in a row.
  • K-State shot 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the field in the second half…The Wildcats have now shot over 50 percent in at least one half for 15 of 17 games this season.
  • K-State had 4 players score in double figures… At least 4 players have now scored in double figures in 11 of 17 games this season.
  • Johnson scored a team-high 20 points on 9-of-13 field goals… He earned his 5th career 20-point game, including his 3rd this season… He led the Wildcats in scoring for the 8th time, including the 4th time this season… This is the 26th time scoring in double figures, including the 11thtime this season.

 

Quotable

  • “Baylor is very good,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “Ish (Wainright) is good, Manu (Lecomte) is good. They are smart. They executed, they made plays and we just did not have an answer for them in the second half. Obviously, second chance points hurt us, 18-5, and they got 16 offensive rebounds. Points off turnovers also hurt us. We had 15 turnovers. We only had three at half. Then the second half we had too many turnovers and a couple of them led to easy baskets, which allowed them to get their head up.”

 

Up Next

  • K-State travels to Stillwater, Okla., on Wednesday, Jan. 18, as the Wildcats take on Oklahoma State (10-7, 0-5 Big 12) at 8 p.m., CT at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The game will air nationally on ESPNU. Tickets are available for as low as $15 at okstate.com and via phone at 877.ALL.4.OSU.

 

–www.kstatesports.com–

 

TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

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