No. 18 Baylor defeats Oklahoma State thanks to late poise.
In the clubs’ Big 12 Conference opener in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Saturday afternoon, No. 18 Baylor defeated Oklahoma State 75-70 in overtime thanks to big free throws from Jalen Bridges and Ja’Kobe Walter in the closing seconds. Dennis scored eighteen points before fouling out late in the game.
Despite shooting only 13.3 percent (2 of 15) from beyond the arc, the Bears (12-2, 1-0 Big 12) won their third consecutive game. Oklahoma State’s eight-six-game winning streak ended at 0-1 in the Big 12.
The Cowboys led 66-63 at the end of overtime thanks to a slam by Brandon Garrison after Dennis missed a jumper with one second remaining to send the game into overtime. Dennis made a layup with 2:30 left in the game, and Langston Love of the Bears added two more free throws before Eric Dailey Jr.’s free throw tied it at 67 for Oklahoma State.
With 1:40 remaining, Dennis made a jumper to put the Bears back up. Thirteen seconds later, Bryce Thompson responded with two free throws. With 1:01 left, Bridges made a pair from the stripe, while Javon Small of the Cowboys only made one of two after being fouled with 45 seconds left.
With 15.2 seconds remaining, Walter made two free throws to increase the Bears’ lead to three points. With seven seconds remaining, Thompson missed a 3-point attempt, and Bridges completed Oklahoma State’s defeat with a slam at the buzzer.
Yves Missi scored 13 points and pulled down 10 boards, while Love added 17 points to lead Baylor. Bridges received a score of ten. Garrison led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Small with 17 and Thompson with 15 for the Cowboys.
The Cowboys held a four-point lead until Baylor unleashed an 8-2 run that ended with a Josh Ojianwuna basket with 2:06 remaining in the half, putting the Bears ahead 27โ25. Baylor went into halftime with a 31-27 advantage.Love led the Bears with 10 points on 5 of 6 shots from the field, while Small topped all first-half scorers with 12 points.