Baylor
Oklahoma St
Bears Drop One To No. 6 Oklahoma State, 68-57
1/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 8, 2002
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
WACO, Texas (AP) - A gimpy Maurice Baker is better than no Maurice Baker for No. 6 Oklahoma State.
"You've got that right," Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton said. "When he's on the floor, he gives our team a comforting feeling."
Baker, still recovering from a groin injury, made his last four shots - including consecutive baskets that put the Cowboys ahead to stay - as Oklahoma State came back to beat Baylor 68-57 Tuesday night.
A turnover by Baker led to Matt Sayman's layup that put Baylor (11-4, 1-1 Big 12) ahead 54-53 with about seven minutes left. Baker came right back to make a long jumper at the other end to put the Cowboys (14-1, 1-1) in front.
After a Baylor miss, Baker drove the baseline for a reverse layup and Oklahoma State continued building its lead after that.
"I had a big turnover, I knew I had to do something to give the team a lift," Baker said. "I moved good out there, but I took a few cuts that I had to slow down a bit. But I'm getting close to being healthy."
Baker, a senior who missed the first start of his career and played just 11 minutes in the 70-61 loss to Texas on Saturday, shot just 5-of-13 and scored 12 points in 37 minutes Tuesday.
"We do feel a lot more comfortable when Mo is out there," said Melvin Sanders, who had 15 points to lead the Cowboys. "Against Texas, we had nobody to look for. This game, we had Mo to look at for big shots, and he made them."
With Baker limited over the weekend, Oklahoma State was among the nation's last four undefeated teams to all lose their first games.
Baker, who said he was about 80 percent healthy, made just one of his first nine shots before a 3-pointer with 11:30 left that made it 42-40, Oklahoma State's first lead of the second half. There were three ties and four lead changes over the next five minutes before Baker's consecutive baskets.
Victor Williams added 13 points for Oklahoma State. Ivan McFarlin had 10 rebounds, his fourth straight game with at least 10 rebounds.
Baylor led 35-28 early in the second half after Lawrence Roberts made a putback and free throw and Wendell Greenleaf made a 3-pointer. The two teams then traded baskets before the Cowboys started their comeback.
"Down the stretch, they made the big plays," Baylor coach Dave Bliss said. "We did about all we could do. They did a good job of finding the open man in the second half."
Roberts led Baylor with 12 points, while Greenleaf and John Lucas both had 11.
The Bears had won their first nine home games, including 79-74 over Iowa State in their Big 12 opener Saturday. But just like last year, after Baylor won its first 10 home games, Oklahoma State broke the streak.
Baylor led 29-25 at halftime after Roberts made two inside baskets. The game had been tied at 25 when Fredrick Jonzen, who finished with 11 points, made a short bank shot with 3:35 left, but Oklahoma State didn't score again before halftime.
The Bears had an early 7-2 lead after two 3-pointers by Lucas. Their largest lead of the first half was 19-13 when Lucas made a 3-pointer while being knocked to the floor without a foul call.
