By Ben Everett | Sports Writer
Baylor men’s basketball dropped to 0-8 against Top-25 teams this season with a 98-96 loss to No. 12 Oklahoma Tuesday night in Norman, Okla.
The Bears (12-10, 2-7) had their best shooting game of the season, but the Sooners (16-5, 6-3) came up with the win to remain undefeated at home.
Senior point guard Manu Lecomte and Oklahoma freshman point guard Trae Young dueled all night, with Lecomte scoring 29 points and Young dropping 44 points.
The game came down to the final seconds, with Baylor junior guard Jake Lindsey missing the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity with four seconds left after Young had converted on two shots from the line to give Oklahoma the lead.
Lecomte was the star early on, locking down Young and knocking down two three-pointers in the first five minutes to give Baylor a 10-7 lead.
Oklahoma junior guard Rashard Odomes scored on back to back drives to the basket and knocked down two threes to give the Sooners a 28-24 lead with 10:22 remaining in the first half.
Lindsey got behind the defense and scored on a reverse layup to cut the lead to just two, but Young responded with an NBA-range three-pointer as Oklahoma took a 33-26 lead at the 8:20 mark.
Sooner freshman forward Brady Manek’s hot-shooting extended the lead for OU, with Manek finding the bottom of the net on three three-pointers as the Sooners led 39-30 with six minutes left in the half.
Lecomte converted on a four-point play and freshman guard Tyson Jolly scored on a layup to cut the OU lead to 44-41 with 3:44 remaining in the first half.
Baylor junior guard King McClure fouled OU sophomore guard Kameron McGusty on a three-pointer, and McGusty knocked down two out of three free throws to give the Sooners a 52-46 lead at halftime.
The six-point deficit continued Baylor’s streak of being down at halftime in every Big 12 game this season.
Oklahoma went seven for 12 from three-point range in the first half. In Baylor’s last four games, opponents have shot 30 for 43 from deep in the first half.
Lecomte came out firing in the second half, draining two three-pointers and stripping Young for a steal that led to a dunk on the other end as Baylor trimmed the lead to 59-57 at the 16:49 mark of the second half.
Oklahoma extended its lead as Baylor missed seven of its next eight shots and Manek drained his fourth three-pointer of the night to give the Sooners a 68-62 lead with 11:51 left.
Lecomte pulled up for a deep three-pointer in transition to tie to the game, but Young got fouled on a three and converted at the line to make it a 79-76 game with 7:46 remaining in the game.
The Bears and Sooners went back-and-forth down the stretch, trading three-pointers as Baylor senior forward Nuni Omot drained his fourth and fifth of the night, Lecomte knocked down his seventh, and Young pulled up for his fifth and sixth as the Bears battled back to tie the game at 89 with three minutes left.
Young grabbed an offensive rebound and faked out the Baylor defense for a layup, but McClure responded with a three-pointer to give Baylor a 96-95 lead with one minute remaining.
Young drove the lane, drew the foul and converted at the line to give OU the lead with 23 seconds left. Lindsey was fouled on the ensuing possession, but could not make the front end of a 1-and-1.
The Bears take on Iowa State at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
