Flagler, Akinjo lead No. 3 Baylor past No. 21 Texas 68-61
AP
Mar 01, 2022
AUSTIN, Texas Longhorns (AP) Baylor Bears spoiled Texas' going-away party for the Longhorns' old arena.
Adam Flagler and James Akinjo each scored 19 points and No. 3 Baylor pulled away late for a tough 68-61 win over No. 21 Texas on Monday night, quieting a raucous sellout crowd of more than 16,000 in the final men's basketball game at the 45-year-old Frank Erwin Center.
Flagler scored 16 in the second half behind four 3-pointers, while Akinjo provided the scoring punch and key ballhandling late for the Bears (25-5, 13-4 Big 12). Akinjo also had eight rebounds and seven assists.
Arena security was braced for another attempt by Texas fans to rush the court after a win, only to watch them start heading for the exits throughout the final minute.
''This is a really tough team. ... It feels good whether it was the last game or not,'' Akinjo said after Baylor earned a regular-season sweep in the rivalry. ''It's always tough to win on the road in the Big 12.''
Baylor also got 13 points from Kendall Brown and 12 from Flo Thamba.
Flagler made consecutive 3-pointers to give Baylor its first lead of the second half at 40-39. Texas (21-9, 10-7) tied it 54-all on Christian Bishop's tough layup in traffic with just over five minutes to play before Flagler answered with a twisting layup, then a 3-pointer to push the Bears' lead to five.
''I just had to make the shots at the end of the day. I got a lot of wide-open looks,'' Flagler said.
After Texas called a timeout, forward Timmy Allen got too close on a layup and hit the underside of the rim. Another Baylor basket and two free throws from Akinjo pushed the Bears' lead to 63-54 with just under two minutes left. Baylor held Texas scoreless for nearly five minutes in building the lead.
The Bears put the game away by going 7 of 8 at the free-throw line over the final 1:53.
''We put a lot of emphasis on the last five minutes of the game. We pride ourselves on buckling down and just being the tougher team out there. We're all connected,'' Flagler said.
Bishop and Marcus Carr each scored 13 points to lead Texas.
''I know our players and our team wanted so badly to try to win this game for people other than ourselves,'' Texas coach Chris Beard said. ''We really wanted to win tonight for fans. This was personal.''
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: The Bears shot up the rankings from No. 10 to No. 3 after last week's Nos. 1-6 all lost on Saturday. Now it's all about how the defending national champions finish the regular season and perform in the Big 12 Tournament if they hope to get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That could include a possible path to the Final Four through the San Antonio regional, just a 3-hour drive from their campus.
Texas: The Longhorns are leaving the Erwin Center after this season for the new $340 million Moody Center being built on campus now. Texas is 549-143 all-time in the building nicknamed ''The Drum.'' The new arena will be cozier, with basketball seating at about 10,000 compared to the Erwin Center's 16,450.
BIG 12 BATTLE
Baylor came into the game a half-game behind No. 6 Kansas atop the Big 12 standings and leave with one more win than the Jayhawks. But Kansas has an extra game on the schedule because of a previously postponed matchup with TCU. The Jayhawks will have to play three games over five days to close the regular season, including a meeting with Texas.
TIP-INS
Texas outscored Baylor 18-5 in points off turnovers, but the Bears evened that out with a 21-9 advantage on second-chance points off 12 offensive rebounds. ... Baylor has won five in a row over Texas, and 11 of the last 12 meetings.
LONG-RANGE MISFIRES
Texas was just 4 of 23 on 3-pointers. Carr made three of those, the last coming before the final buzzer.
''When you get in the (postseason) and you have a bad shooting night, how are you going to win the game?'' Beard said. ''There's other things you've got to figure out. ... Their point guard nearly had a triple-double, their shooters made shots.''
UP NEXT
Baylor hosts Iowa State on Saturday.
Texas plays at No. 6 Kansas on Saturday.
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1st Half
BAYL
Bears
27
TEX
Longhorns
30
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Flo Thamba vs. Christian Bishop (Matthew Mayer gains possession)
20:00
Matthew Mayer misses three point jump shot
19:58
Longhorns defensive rebound
19:18
+2
Marcus Carr makes two point jump shot
0-2
19:00
Flo Thamba misses two point hook shot
18:58
Christian Bishop defensive rebound
18:31
Longhorns turnover (shot clock violation)
18:23
Matthew Mayer misses three point jump shot
18:21
Courtney Ramey defensive rebound
18:04
Andrew Jones misses three point jump shot
18:02
Matthew Mayer defensive rebound
17:52
+2
James Akinjo makes two point layup
2-2
17:24
Courtney Ramey misses two point jump shot
17:22
Kendall Brown defensive rebound
17:19
Andrew Jones personal foul
17:19
+3
Adam Flagler makes three point jump shot (James Akinjo assists)
5-2
17:05
Jase Febres offensive foul (Adam Flagler draws the foul)
17:05
Jase Febres turnover
16:25
James Akinjo misses three point jump shot
16:25
Courtney Ramey defensive rebound
16:25
+3
Jase Febres makes three point jump shot (Courtney Ramey assists)
5-5
16:08
Timmy Allen personal foul (Kendall Brown draws the foul)
16:01
Kendall Brown offensive foul (Christian Bishop draws the foul)
16:01
Kendall Brown turnover
15:48
Jase Febres misses three point jump shot
15:46
Christian Bishop offensive rebound
15:37
+3
Marcus Carr makes three point jump shot (Brock Cunningham assists)
5-8
15:10
Adam Flagler misses two point layup
15:10
Adam Flagler misses two point layup
15:08
Kendall Brown offensive rebound
15:05
+2
Kendall Brown makes two point tip shot
7-8
14:40
Courtney Ramey misses two point jump shot
14:38
Longhorns offensive rebound
14:38
Longhorns turnover (shot clock violation)
14:15
+2
Flo Thamba makes two point layup (James Akinjo assists)
9-8
13:59
Timmy Allen turnover (lost ball) (Adam Flagler steals)
13:42
James Akinjo turnover (bad pass) (Marcus Carr steals)
13:37
+2
Marcus Carr makes two point layup
9-10
13:04
Kendall Brown turnover (bad pass) (Courtney Ramey steals)
12:51
+2
Christian Bishop makes two point layup (Andrew Jones assists)
9-12
12:23
Adam Flagler misses two point jump shot
12:21
Courtney Ramey defensive rebound
12:10
Courtney Ramey misses three point jump shot
12:08
Flo Thamba defensive rebound
11:52
TV timeout
11:48
Adam Flagler offensive foul (Andrew Jones draws the foul)
11:48
Adam Flagler turnover
11:40
Adam Flagler shooting foul (Christian Bishop draws the foul)
11:40
Christian Bishop misses regular free throw 1 of 2
11:40
Matthew Mayer defensive rebound
11:40
Christian Bishop misses regular free throw 2 of 2
11:40
Matthew Mayer defensive rebound
11:15
Kendall Brown misses two point layup
11:13
Christian Bishop defensive rebound
10:48
Marcus Carr misses three point jump shot
10:46
Timmy Allen offensive rebound
10:43
Andrew Jones misses three point jump shot
10:41
Kendall Brown defensive rebound
10:33
Christian Bishop personal foul (Matthew Mayer draws the foul)
10:17
Matthew Mayer misses three point jump shot
10:15
Brock Cunningham defensive rebound
9:57
Andrew Jones turnover (traveling)
9:33
Jeremy Sochan misses three point jump shot
9:31
Courtney Ramey defensive rebound
9:21
Matthew Mayer personal foul (Courtney Ramey draws the foul)
9:10
Kendall Brown shooting foul (Timmy Allen draws the foul)
9:10
+1
Timmy Allen makes regular free throw 1 of 2
9-13
9:10
+1
Timmy Allen makes regular free throw 2 of 2
9-14
8:47
Dale Bonner misses three point jump shot
8:45
Devin Askew defensive rebound
8:31
+2
Andrew Jones makes two point layup (Timmy Allen assists)
9-16
8:08
Adam Flagler misses three point jump shot
8:06
Jeremy Sochan offensive rebound
8:00
Andrew Jones shooting foul (Kendall Brown draws the foul)
8:00
TV timeout
8:00
+1
Kendall Brown makes regular free throw 1 of 2
10-16
8:00
+1
Kendall Brown makes regular free throw 2 of 2
11-16
7:53
Jase Febres misses three point jump shot
7:51
Dylan Disu offensive rebound
7:50
Dale Bonner personal foul (Dylan Disu draws the foul)
7:48
Timmy Allen misses two point jump shot
7:46
Adam Flagler defensive rebound
7:38
+2
Flo Thamba makes two point layup (James Akinjo assists)
13-16
7:10
Jase Febres misses three point jump shot
7:08
Flo Thamba defensive rebound
6:42
James Akinjo turnover (bad pass) (Courtney Ramey steals)
6:42
Flo Thamba personal foul (Jase Febres draws the foul)
6:42
+1
Jase Febres makes regular free throw 1 of 2
13-17
6:42
+1
Jase Febres makes regular free throw 2 of 2
13-18
6:14
Jeremy Sochan misses three point jump shot
6:12
Marcus Carr defensive rebound
6:04
Marcus Carr misses two point jump shot
6:02
Dylan Disu offensive rebound
5:57
Timmy Allen misses two point jump shot
5:56
Timmy Allen offensive rebound
5:55
Flo Thamba shooting foul (Timmy Allen draws the foul)
5:55
Timmy Allen misses regular free throw 1 of 2
5:43
+3
Kendall Brown makes three point jump shot (James Akinjo assists)
16-18
5:55
Timmy Allen misses regular free throw 2 of 2
5:55
Matthew Mayer defensive rebound
5:43
+3
Kendall Brown makes three point jump shot (James Akinjo assists)
16-18
5:23
+2
Christian Bishop makes two point alley-oop dunk (Marcus Carr assists)
16-20
4:53
+2
Flo Thamba makes two point dunk (Matthew Mayer assists)
18-20
4:36
+2
Courtney Ramey makes two point jump shot
18-22
4:15
James Akinjo misses three point jump shot
4:13
Courtney Ramey defensive rebound
4:05
Jase Febres misses three point jump shot
4:03
Bears defensive rebound
3:49
+2
Kendall Brown makes two point jump shot
20-22
3:49
Brock Cunningham shooting foul (Kendall Brown draws the foul)