By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
Baylor started hot on Saturday afternoon against West Virginia with three straight threes, courtesy of fifth-year guard Obi Agbim and redshirt sophomore Cam Carr.
The quick opening was a good omen of things to come. The Bears (12-9, 2-7 Big 12) won 63-53 in Morgantown, securing their second Big 12 victory after the program’s worst start to conference play in 20 years.
The Mountaineers (14-8, 5-4 Big 12) called the first timeout of the game in the first three minutes after the Bears quickly went up 15-6.
Following the early run, the Bears allowed a 15-2 run opportunity for the Mountaineers causing them to fall back into a deficit.
Carr brought the green and gold back to the lead at the seven-minute mark, drilling an and-one 3-pointer to give the Bears the lead. Head coach Scott Drew’s squad built on the momentum to go on a 16–4 run, growing the lead to 35-26 with three minutes left in the first half.
Senior forward Michael Rataj, who has struggled from the floor lately, splashed a corner three to stretch the Bears’ lead to double digits, marking the team’s first double-digit lead since Christmas break.
The Bears went into halftime with a 38-30 lead after a fairly even performance across the board. Carr led the squad with 11 points, followed by Agbim (eight) and freshman wing Tounde Yessoufou (seven). The eight-point halftime lead was only the second time in conference play the Bears have led at halftime.
Only two minutes into the second half, Agbim went down after taking an arm to the face. The officials reviewed the contact to assess a non-basketball flagrant 1 foul. The foul turned the tide of the game into a physical battle, a well-known mantra for Mountaineer basketball.
Drew was forced to call a timeout at the 15-minute mark after West Virginia closed what was a 13-point gap to just five. Senior guard Dan Skillings Jr. came immediately out of the timeout to cash in a tough layup to answer the run.
Undefeated at home, the Mountaineers refused to be put down that easily, managing to remain within five points of the Bears.
Scoring hit a standstill under the 10-minute mark for both teams in the second half, as they scored a combined six points over as many minutes of play. Despite leading 49-44, the Bears went 0-13 from the floor throughout the same stretch.
Yessoufou silenced the drought, knocking down a baseline jumper, prompting the broadcast announcer to declare, “Thank God somebody scored.”
Agbim led the way for the Bears down the stretch with 16 points, as they became the first team to beat West Virginia in Morgantown this season. The win stretched Baylor’s win streak against the Mountaineers to eight.
The Bears’ next game will come against Colorado (12-9, 2-6 Big 12) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Foster Pavilion. The game will be streamed on Peacock.
