By Gio Gennero | Sports Writer
No. 9 Baylor basketball fell short to No. 14 Kansas State University, 75-65, coming up empty in the season series Tuesday night in the Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.
The Bears’ second-half struggles continued as they move to 20-8 overall and 9-6 in the Big 12. Former Baylor assistant coach and first-year head coach for the Wildcats, Jerome Tang, got his bragging rights over Baylor head coach Scott Drew for their first season apart in nearly a decade.
“First of all, Coach Tang should be National Coach of the Year, period,” Drew said. “They had two players, they filled the whole roster, they’re picked at the bottom. He’ll get my vote, and that’s not because he’s my brother. That’s because he’s earned it.”
Freshman guard Keyonte George hit six three-pointers in his 23-point performance. Junior guard LJ Cryer followed with 16 points and a team-high six assists. Redshirt senior forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua notched a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bears got off to a good start, as Cryer and George scored 11 and eight points, respectively, in the first half. The team found itself up 34-31 at the half.
The second half was a different story for the green and gold, as it got outscored by 13 in the final half. George carried the majority of the load the second half, piling in four threes on his way to 15 for the half. Unfortunately, there weren’t many possessions won for Baylor outside of that and Kansas State (21-7, 9-6 Big 12) was able to jump ahead on the Bears for the second time this season.
“Both halves, our defense really struggled,” Drew said. “We gave up 58% [shooting] today and 63% at Kansas. Today, they had 19 points on our turnovers. I do think we have an unbelievable backcourt, but we can’t give up 19 points off turnovers. Part of being a good backcourt is taking care of the rock.”
Up next, Baylor will come back home for a top-10 battle against No. 8 University of Texas at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Ferrell Center.
