By Matthew Soderberg | Sports Writer
No. 1 Baylor men’s basketball defeated Iowa State 67-53 in Ames, Iowa on Wednesday night. The Bears left no doubt as they led for the last 31 minutes of the game.
Redshirt junior guard MaCio Teague led Baylor in scoring with 15 on 6-14 shooting, joining three other Bears in double figures. Iowa State had two players, guards Tyrese Haliburton (17) and Rasir Bolton (19), that outscored anyone in Green and Gold, but the Cyclones failed to field another player who scored more than four points.
Redshirt senior forward Freddie Gillespie was second in scoring for Baylor with 12 points on 5-6 shooting, complemented by nine rebounds and three blocks. Redshirt sophomore guard Davion Mitchell and senior guard Devonte Bandoo followed with 10 and 12 points, respectively. Mitchell also supplied five rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Junior forward Mark Vital had one of his most complex box scores of the season in the win with eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists. His effort countered sophomore guard Jared Butler’s off-night, as he was able to muster just eight points on 4-11 shooting, including 0-6 from deep and a zero in the free throw attempts column.
After trailing by one with 11:11 left on the clock in the first half, the Bears slowly built up a comfortable seven-point lead by the break. Baylor outshot Iowa State 50%-36% from the field. The Bears also dominated the paint, outscoring their opponent by 12 points.
Baylor held the lead around five points for the first seven minutes of the second half before exploding for 17 of the next 19 points raise the lead to 20 at the 5:30 mark. Iowa State then ran off 10 of the next 12, but their late push was a fraught effort as the Bears still led by 12 points with under a minute remaining.
Baylor forced eight turnovers in the second period while the Cyclones forced just three. The Bears also grabbed four more offensive boards and 10 more points in the paint than their opponent in the final 20 minutes.
The Bears will get a breather from their road trip when they play TCU at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Ferrell Center. The game will also be used to celebrate Baylor’s 175th anniversary. It can be watched on ESPN2 and can be streamed on the ESPN app.
