Baylor
5-3
Wichita State
4-3
MBB Battles Back, Falls Short at Wichita State
12/1/2018 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — There was misery Saturday night for Baylor coach Scott Drew as his team struggled to reach double-figure scoring before halftime at Wichita State.
The Shockers built a 44-15 halftime lead, and Samajae Haynes-Jones finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds as Wichita State held on to defeat Baylor 71-63 despite letting a 33-point lead get cut to five.
It was one of the 10 largest halftime leads for Wichita State in 40 seasons.
But after the loss, at least Drew knew Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall understood his suffering. "I'm pretty sure coach Marshall and I both had heart attacks at different points tonight," Drew said.
"Samajae had that look," Marshall said. "He was solid, man, played like a point guard, too. It was gratifying for me to see that young man play that well in a big game."
Erik Stevenson added 18 points and Markis McDuffie had 15 for Wichita State (4-3).
Tristan Clark and Mario Kegler each scored 12 points to lead Baylor (5-3) while King McClure added 10. The trio combined for 24 points during the second-half rally.
Trailing by 29 at halftime, Baylor methodically got back in the game, cutting the Shockers' lead to 60-55 with 3:47 to play.
But that's when Wichita State's two stars of the game — Stevenson and Haynes-Jones — came through with baskets. Haynes-Jones' 3-point play pushed the lead back to 10 with 2:16 remaining.
"I've got to figure out what he (Drew) said to his team to start the second half," Marshall said, "and he has to figure out what I said to mine to start the game, then we'd have one heck of a team."
Baylor did not score in the game's first 6 ½ minutes, and with 7:10 remaining in the first half, Wichita State led 20-4 and had held Baylor to 2-of-18 shooting.
Haynes-Jones had as many first-half points as Baylor, scoring 15 on five 3-pointers. Stevenson came off the bench to hit three first-half 3-pointers, helping the Shockers build a 44-15 halftime advantage.
