No. 7 Baylor men’s basketball wins second-straight, 74-68, over OSU

Junior guard LJ Cryer (4) focuses on the rim as he gathers the ball for a shot on Monday in the Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla. Photo courtesy of Baylor Athletics

By Gio Gennero | Sports Writer

No. 7 Baylor men’s basketball won its second-straight game, taking down Oklahoma State University, 74-68, in the Gallagher-Iva Arena in Stillwater, Okla.

The Bears have won eight-consecutive games at OSU, stretching back to 2016.

Baylor (22-8, 11-6 Big 12) led from early on in the contest, going up as many as nine points after junior guard LJ Cryer connected on a 3-pointer to push the score to 29-20. The backcourt duo of Cryer and senior guard Adam Flagler provided the bulk of the scoring in the first, combining for 22 (13 and 9) of the team’s 41 points.

“We shot 29 percent in the second half, we had some great looks but that’s the legs,” head coach Scott Drew said. “Oklahoma State did a great job on the glass, 22 offensive rebounds really hurt us, and we have to do a much better job blocking out. But we did finish with more second-chance points and that’s a good thing.”

Junior forward Jalen Bridges scored quickly in the second half, and had nine in the period for 14 total. For the second-straight game, redshirt senior guard Dale Bonner exploded in the second half and helped the Bears jump ahead by as many as 19 points at 65-46. Bonner hit three of his four shot attempts in the half and finished with 15 points.

“Dale [had] another tremendous game,” Drew said. “Gave us a huge lift.”

Drew added that redshirt freshman guard Langston Love hurt his eye and that his status is unknown moving forward.

“Hopefully we can get Langston’s eye right,” Drew said. “He could only see with one eye.”

The green and gold are now third in the conference, half a game behind No. 9 University of Texas in the Big 12 rankings and a full game behind No. 3 University of Kansas.

Up next, the team faces another conference opponent back home against Iowa State University. Tip-off is at 11 a.m. Saturday and is the Bears’ last game in the Ferrell Center for the season.