No. 22 Baylor falls short in 63-61 loss to Kansas State

Kansas State's Nino Williams (11) celebrates as he walks across the court with Baylor's Rico Gathers (2) after a foul on Baylor during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, in Manhattan, Kan. Kansas State won 63-61.
Charlie Riedel | Associated Press
Kansas State's Nino Williams (11) celebrates as he walks across the court with Baylor's Rico Gathers (2) after a foul on Baylor during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, in Manhattan, Kan. Kansas State won 63-61.Charlie Riedel | Associated Press
Kansas State’s Nino Williams (11) celebrates as he walks across the court with Baylor’s Rico Gathers (2) after a foul on Baylor during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, in Manhattan, Kan. Kansas State won 63-61.
Charlie Riedel | Associated Press

By Cody Soto
Sports Writer

No. 22 Baylor men’s basketball couldn’t overcome a poor second half performance to drop a 63-61 loss to Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday afternoon.

Senior guard Kenny Chery led the Bears 8-for-14 from the field for 21 points and three steals. Junior forward Taurean Prince added 20 points, but no other player had more than six points in the loss.

Junior forwards Rico Gathers and Royce O’Neale had six rebounds apiece; freshman forward Johnathan Motley and Prince had five. The Bears had 15 turnovers and were 8-for-23 from the three-point line. Baylor was 9-for-23 in the team’s 74-73 win over No. 11 Iowa State on Wednesday night but could not bring the second half intensity to shoot 30 percent in the final 20 minutes.

Baylor headed into the locker room with a 33-24 lead at halftime shooting 48 percent from the field but only made nine shots after that to drop its third conference matchup.

The Bears (13-4, 2-3 Big 12) head home to host non-conference opponent Huston-Tillotson on Wednesday night and look to have a dominating performance before heading back into league play. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Fox Sports Southwest.