Box Score By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Scott Drew might have to change up his halftime message.
After being outscored 8-1 by visiting Arkansas State in the last three minutes of the first half, the Baylor coach talked about getting off to a fast start following the intermission break. Instead, the Red Wolves (2-4) hit their first four shots and had an 11-2 run to pull back within seven.
"I'm going to tell them from now on to start the second half slow, and we'll see what happens," Drew said.
The 25th-ranked Bears (4-1) overcame that rough patch to win going away, 94-72, Friday afternoon in the final game of the Global Sports Shootout.
"They just came out with more of an edge than we did," said senior forward Taurean Prince, who had a career-high 25 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. "We did a good job as a team turning it around and getting back to where we could get it in the post and play out of that."
Arkansas State coach John Brady said the Bears just overpowered the Red Wolves and were "too physical for us around the goal."
Rico Gathers posted his 26th career double-double and second of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds, helping Baylor to a slight edge on the boards, 39-34. Baylor shot 54 percent in the second half, knocked down a season-high 10 3-pointers and made 26-of-30 from the line.
"Very, very pleased with the free-throw shooting," Drew said. "You're going to win a lot of games when you get to the line 30 times, and you're going to win a lot of games when you make 26-of-30. I can't promise we'll keep doing it, but I love it right now. . . . Hat's off to Rico and TP, going 16-for-16 is tremendous."
Despite the early start time after Thursday's Thanksgiving Day celebration, the Bears got out to a good start and took a double-digit lead, 20-10, on a pair of free throws by Johnathan Motley just 7 ½ minutes into the game.
Ish Wainright and Al Freeman drained 3-pointers in a 14-2 run that stretched the lead to 41-17. But the Red Wolves' Devin Carter hit a bucket and follow free throw that brought ASU back to within 48-32 at the break.
"When we're playing and moving the ball, a lot of times the defense ends up scrambling," said Freeman, who was 3-for-6 from outside the arc and hit double digits for the fifth straight time with 19 points. "Essentially, we're just trying to take what the defense gives us. On a hard closeout, we stress driving and getting to the point. And if they're going to be short on us . . . we have confidence in each other and ourselves that we can take and make those shots."
After ASU pulled back within seven, Baylor answered with an 8-0 run of its own and went up 58-43 on a Prince trey. Prince and Freeman combined for 27 of the team's 46 second-half points as the Bears pushed the lead to as many as 30.
Carter and Anthony Livingston scored 20 points apiece for the Red Wolves, hitting a combined 15-of-30 from the field. But the rest of the team was just 14-of-39.
"Outside of Livingston and Carter, it's a dice roll on who's going to score the ball for us," said Brady, whose team was coming off a 91-68 loss at Oregon just two days earlier. "But our biggest thing is we couldn't give them enough resistance. And I like their team a great deal. I think they're going to be tough to beat, even in the league they play. The versatility they have is really good."
The Bears finished with five double-figure scorers, including Motley with 13 and Lester Medford with 11 points, four assists and two steals. Baylor's bench outscored the Red Wolves reserves, 26-16, getting five points, two rebounds and two assists in a career-high 17 minutes from freshman guard Jake Lindsey.
Baylor continues its six-game home stand with a matchup against Prairie View A&M (0-5) in the back end of a doubleheader at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Tigers, playing eight of their first nine on the road, will play UNLV Saturday night before trekking to Waco.
