Cryer, Bonner help No. 7 Baylor top Oklahoma State 74-68
AP
Feb 28, 2023
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) LJ Cryer and Dale Bonner each scored 15 points, and No. 7 Baylor Bears held off Oklahoma State Cowboys for a 74-68 victory on Monday night.
Jalen Bridges had 14 points and Adam Flagler added 13 for Baylor (22-8, 11-6 Big 12), which earned its second straight win since dropping consecutive games at Kansas State and Kansas.
The Bears played without leading scorer Keyonte George, who sprained his right ankle during Saturday's 81-72 victory over Texas.
John-Michael Wright scored 17 points for Oklahoma State (16-14, 7-10). Caleb Asberry and Quion Williams finished with 12 apiece. The Cowboys also lost 74-58 to the Bears on Jan. 14.
Oklahoma State trailed 67-50 after Bonner made two foul shots with 4:01 left in the rematch. But Moussa Cisse responded with two free throws, sparking a 15-2 run for the Cowboys.
Bonner made three more from the line and Flagler also made two fouls shots to help Baylor close it out in the final seconds.
Baylor coach Scott Drew credited his veteran backcourt for helping his team hold off Oklahoma State's furious last-minute run.
''With Adam and LJ, it makes it easy to sleep at night. Dale was tremendous down the stretch,'' Drew said. ''It starts with your backcourt, they've got experience, they made free throws, they take care of the basketball, so you really trust them.''
With the Bears losing two frontcourt starters to fouls in the final minutes, Cryer said it was up to the guards to take charge.
''Just not to panic because things were going left,'' Cryer said. ''At the end of the day, we still had the lead and control of the game, even though they were on their run. It was like, we just have to take care of the ball and finish the game.''
The Bears got off to a solid start, taking a 41-30 halftime lead. Baylor shot 56% (15 for 27 ) from the field in the first half, including 8 for 16 from 3-point range.
Oklahoma State dropped its fifth straight, and coach Mike Boynton says it is impossible for his team not to think about their need to finish the conference season with a win at Texas Tech and then win at the Big 12 Tournament to secure their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
''We don't dance around this stuff. We show them the standings. This is where we are, this is what we've done, this is what we have in front of us,'' Boynton said. ''If you're a basketball player, that's what you think about and you're one of the teams that people are talking about being on the line. That's why I don't pretend that it's not a real thing.''
TIP-INS
Baylor: George will be evaluated again before the regular-season finale against Iowa State. He is averaging 16.3 points per game this season, which ranks fifth among freshmen in NCAA Division I. He has 12 games of 20 points or more this season.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys outrebounded the Bears 40-32 and enjoyed a 34-18 advantage in points in the paint. But the Cowboys went 5 for 9 at the line, compared to 17 for 20 for the Bears.
UP NEXT
Baylor: Hosts Iowa State on Saturday.
Oklahoma State: Visits Texas Tech on Saturday.
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1st Half
BAYL
Bears
41
OKST
Cowboys
30
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
(Cowboys gains possession)
19:37
John-Michael Wright misses three point pullup jump shot
19:35
Kalib Boone offensive rebound
19:29
Kalib Boone misses two point putback layup
19:27
Caleb Asberry offensive rebound
19:23
Woody Newton misses three point jump shot
19:21
Flo Thamba defensive rebound
19:12
Caleb Asberry personal foul (Bears draws the foul)
19:07
+3
Adam Flagler makes three point pullup jump shot (LJ Cryer assists)
3-0
18:53
Caleb Asberry misses three point pullup jump shot
18:51
Langston Love defensive rebound
18:38
Langston Love misses three point pullup jump shot
18:36
Bears offensive rebound
18:29
Adam Flagler turnover (bad pass) (John-Michael Wright steals)
18:23
+2
John-Michael Wright makes two point driving dunk
3-2
18:05
+3
LJ Cryer makes three point pullup jump shot
6-2
17:52
Woody Newton misses three point pullup jump shot
17:50
Adam Flagler defensive rebound
17:39
+2
LJ Cryer makes two point pullup jump shot
8-2
17:18
Flo Thamba personal foul
17:04
+2
Bryce Thompson makes two point pullup jump shot
8-4
16:40
+2
Flo Thamba makes two point driving layup (Adam Flagler assists)
10-4
16:40
Kalib Boone personal foul (Flo Thamba draws the foul)
16:40
Flo Thamba misses regular free throw 1 of 1
16:40
Jalen Bridges offensive rebound
16:29
Jalen Bridges misses three point pullup jump shot
16:27
Flo Thamba offensive rebound
16:23
+2
Flo Thamba makes two point putback layup
12-4
16:03
Chris Harris Jr. misses three point pullup jump shot
16:01
Flo Thamba defensive rebound
15:44
LJ Cryer misses three point pullup jump shot
15:42
John-Michael Wright defensive rebound
15:31
Bryce Thompson misses three point pullup jump shot
15:29
Flo Thamba defensive rebound
15:03
Adam Flagler misses two point pullup jump shot
15:01
John-Michael Wright defensive rebound
14:51
John-Michael Wright misses three point pullup jump shot
14:45
Bears defensive rebound
14:45
Bryce Thompson personal foul
14:49
TV timeout
14:18
Bryce Thompson personal foul (Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua draws the foul)
14:18
+1
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua makes regular free throw 1 of 2
13-4
14:18
+1
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua makes regular free throw 2 of 2
14-4
13:57
+3
John-Michael Wright makes three point pullup jump shot (Caleb Asberry assists)
14-7
13:41
+2
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua makes two point cutting finger roll layup (Dale Bonner assists)
16-7
13:26
+3
Quion Williams makes three point pullup jump shot (John-Michael Wright assists)
16-10
13:04
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua misses two point turnaround jump shot
13:02
Moussa Cisse defensive rebound
12:52
Quion Williams misses three point pullup jump shot
12:50
Caleb Asberry offensive rebound
12:42
John-Michael Wright misses three point pullup jump shot
12:40
Chris Harris Jr. offensive rebound
12:31
Quion Williams turnover (lost ball) (Adam Flagler steals)
12:24
+3
Dale Bonner makes three point pullup jump shot (Adam Flagler assists)
19-10
12:09
Dale Bonner personal foul (Quion Williams draws the foul)
12:01
+2
Tyreek Smith makes two point driving layup (Chris Harris Jr. assists)
19-12
11:35
TV timeout
11:31
LJ Cryer misses three point pullup jump shot
11:29
Cowboys defensive rebound
11:18
Flo Thamba personal foul (Kalib Boone draws the foul)
11:09
Kalib Boone misses two point driving layup
11:07
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua defensive rebound
10:49
LJ Cryer turnover (lost ball) (Woody Newton steals)
10:32
LJ Cryer personal foul
10:23
Kalib Boone misses two point floating jump shot
10:21
Tyreek Smith offensive rebound
10:19
Tyreek Smith misses two point putback layup
10:18
Cowboys offensive rebound
10:18
Jalen Bridges personal foul (Tyreek Smith draws the foul)
10:03
John-Michael Wright misses two point pullup jump shot
10:01
John-Michael Wright offensive rebound
9:48
John-Michael Wright misses two point driving layup
9:48
John-Michael Wright offensive rebound
9:48
John-Michael Wright misses three point pullup jump shot
9:46
Tyreek Smith offensive rebound
9:36
+2
Kalib Boone makes two point driving layup (Caleb Asberry assists)
19-14
9:24
Tyreek Smith blocks Dale Bonner's two point driving layup
9:22
Caleb Asberry defensive rebound
9:14
John-Michael Wright misses three point pullup jump shot