By Jackson Posey | Sports Editor, Braden Murray | LTVN Executive Producer
Baylor smoked out Washington 78-69 at the Foster Pavilion Sunday night in a high-profile non-conference matchup marked by shooting disparities and a democratic offensive attack.
Six Baylor (2-0) players scored in double digits as a balanced Bears offense doubled up the Huskies (2-1) at the 3-point and free-throw lines. After two dominant offensive showings to open the season, Washington shot just 41.2% from the field.
“I like how we don’t get rattled through adversity,” said sophomore guard Isaac Williams IV, who scored 11 points in the second half. “We all really believe in each other, so we know if they go on a little run or whatever, we’re still in it. And we’re always going to be in it, no matter what time in the game.”
Washington head coach Danny Sprinkle subbed early and often, making two two-man substitutions before the first TV timeout. The Huskies were two time zones away from home and playing their third game in seven days following home wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Denver.
Baylor’s offense spent most of the first half swinging the ball around the perimeter, searching for dribble-drive penetration opportunities. The patient, at times stagnant, unit slowed the game to a crawl, which worked to the Bears’ favor early. It took more than 13 minutes for the Huskies’ offense to surpass 20 points as freshman Tounde Yessoufou (13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) led Baylor to a 25-22 lead with six minutes to play in the first half.
Redshirt sophomore Cameron Carr led the way offensively, scoring 13 first-half points and drilling two 3-pointers with a defender in his eye. Carr finished with a team-high 16 points, marking his second game in a row leading the Bears in scoring.
Still, Baylor’s scoring issues persisted. The other Bears combined to shoot 0-for-9 from beyond the arc in the first half, including 0-for-7 between Yessoufou and graduate guard Obi Agbim. It took a three-point advantage at the free throw line — and the Huskies shooting 0-for-7 from deep — to send the home team to halftime with a 38-32 lead.
The Bears began to pull away in the second half, nearly doubling Washington’s free-throw attempts as the Huskies continued to struggle from three, finishing 3-for-20 from deep. Washington won the offensive rebounding battle by nine, but it wasn’t enough to overcome deficits in transition and off turnovers.
“When they got [Dan] Skillings and [Michael] Rataj out there at the four and five, they’re so aggressive driving it,” Washington head coach Danny Sprinkle said. “It puts a lot of pressure on your bigs to guard without fouling.”
The defensive tenacity of Yessoufou, Williams and the rest of the Bears forced a highly-regarded Washington offense into a series of loose balls and poor shot attempts. The Huskies scored 69 points on 41.2/15.0/66.7 shooting splits, all season lows. They scored just five points on fast breaks.
“We knew we had to make things difficult on them, and for the most part we were able to do that,” head coach Scott Drew said.
With time winding down under a minute, Washington struggled to get a shot off. Senior guard Dan Skillings Jr. drew a foul on Zoom Diallo, fouling out the former blue-chip guard and the Huskies’ leading scorer on the night.
Yessoufou hit one of two free throws on the other end before Lathan Sommerville — intentionally left open in the right corner — missed a shot that would’ve cut the lead to four. Another Husky missed a contested layup with 20 seconds left, leaving Yessoufou to dribble out the clock out on the Bears’ first high-major win of the season.
“Our guys [will] continue to get used to playing at the Foster, but it’s a huge advantage,” Drew said. “Hopefully the more we compete and play, the better we’ll start. But again, I think the crowd really played a big part in getting us over the hump.”
Baylor will return to action at 8 p.m. Friday at Foster Pavilion against Tarleton State, the Bears’ final tune-up game before the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
