By Ben Everett | Sports WriterThe No. 4-ranked Baylor Lady Bears basketball team takes on Oklahoma State at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Ferrell Center.The Lady Bears (24-2, 13-1) look to win at home for the first time since being upset by Texas on Feb. 7. Despite the home loss, Lady Bears head coach Kim Mulkey said her team has not lost confidence. “I think their feelings are hurt,” Mulkey said. “I think they’re ticked and embarrassed. We’re too good to lose confidence.”Additionally, Mulkey added that mistakes made against the Longhorns don’t define the flaws of the team and that…
Author: Ben Everett
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterNo. 4-ranked Baylor men’s basketball hosts No. 3 Kansas this Saturday at the Ferrell Center in a matchup that is arguably the most important game in head coach Scott Drew’s time in Waco. When Drew arrived in 2003, the men’s basketball program was mired in scandal. Nevertheless, he has taken the team to heights never before seen by Baylor basketball fans. With an NCAA Tournament bid this season, which is a lock at this point, the Bears will have made the big dance four straight years, a feat that no Baylor men’s basketball team has…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor men’s basketball sophomore forward Jonathan Davis, previously a walk-on member of the team, was awarded a full scholarship last week during a pre-game team chapel service. The video of the service went viral, appearing on multiple social media platforms and being featured on USA Today.Assistant coach Jerome Tang led the service, speaking on what it means to be a servant leader. “People recognize servants,” Tang said as a part of the lesson. “They recognize those who come to serve and not be served — guys who lay down their life.”At the end of the…
By Ben Everett | Sports Writer Former associate athletic director Heath Nielsen will not be indicted on a misdemeanor assault warrant stemming from an alleged confrontation in November. The McLennan County Grand Jury declined to indict Nielsen on Wednesday. McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna presented the misdemeanor case to the Grand Jury, which usually only reviews felony cases. The warrant came from an on-field dispute between Nielsen and a sports writer following the Bears’ loss to TCU on Nov. 5, 2016. The sports writer alleged that he was grabbed by the throat and pushed away from a player by…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterNo. 4 Baylor men’s basketball fell to Texas Tech 84-78 Monday night in Lubbock. The Bears (22-4, 9-4) got a career performance from sophomore forward Terry Maston but were unable to overcome foul trouble and the Red Raiders’ (17-9, 5-8) hot shooting. The Red Raiders started strong, scoring the first six points of the game and prompting Baylor head coach Scott Drew to call a timeout just two minutes in. Texas Tech didn’t stop, however, as junior forward Zach Smith drained a three-pointer, and junior guard Keenan Evans knocked down a mid-range jumper to give…
By Ben Everett | Sports Writer Baylor associate athletic director for communications Heath Nielsen is no longer working for the Baylor athletics department, according to KWTX. The departure comes three months after Nielsen was reportedly involved in a confrontation with James McBride, reporter for The Blaze News in Keller, following a home football loss to TCU on Nov. 5. A Baylor spokesperson told the Lariat, “It’s a human resource/employment matter and we can’t provide comment at this time.” Nielsen, a 16-year veteran of the Baylor athletic department, was arrested on a misdemeanor assault warrant following the event. The arrest warrant…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterNo. 6-ranked Baylor men’s basketball looks to bounce back from two straight losses against Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. today in Stillwater, Okla.The Bears (20-3, 7-3) are in their first losing streak of the season, losing at Kansas and at home against Kansas State last week. Sophomore guard Jake Lindsey says the losses haven’t fazed the team, and they continue to look forward.”We have an experienced crew,” Lindsey said. “We’ve been through ups and downs. A lot of us have lost big games, so I think we know how to respond.”The Cowboys (15-8, 4-6) are…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterThe No. 14-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team remained undefeated this weekend with wins over Lamar and No. 20 Texas A&M in Houston.The Bears (5-0) took down the Cardinals (3-3) 6-1 on Friday before defeating the Aggies (1-3) on Sunday afternoon.Following the win over Texas A&M, Baylor head coach Matt Knoll said his young team is continuing to improve as the season progresses.“One of the things I feel good about is that we have improved,” Knoll said. “I think last time we had some jitters with so many younger guys. I feel like we have settled…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom, posting a composite 3.27 GPA in the fall 2016 semester and continuing a streak of 17 straight semesters with a cumulative 3.0 GPA or higher. Baylor Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades expressed his satisfaction in the academic accomplishments of Baylor’s student-athletes. “We are proud that our student-athletes have achieved a 3.0 GPA or higher for the 17th consecutive semester,” Baylor Director of Athletics said in a press release. “It is a testament to the commitment and collaboration of our student-athletes, coaches and support staff with professors and…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor soccer added three new players for the 2017 season on Wednesday as a part of National Signing Day.Sarah Bevington, Zionah Browne and Allyson Henderson joined early enrollees Emily Bunnell and Jennifer Wandt to round out the 2017 recruiting class for the Bears.Head coach Paul Jobson says the team will benefit from the winning mentality of the newly-inked Bears.“All these kids are winners,” Jobson said. “They know how to win. They come from winning clubs. We’re really excited to have them here. They are going to push the level of our team from day one.”Bevington…
No. 2-ranked Baylor men’s basketball fell to No. 3 Kansas 73-68 Wednesday night in Lawrence, Kan.The Bears (20-2, 7-2) kept it close but couldn’t get their first-ever win in Allen Fieldhouse against the Jayhawks (20-2, 8-1).The Jayhawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but junior forward Johnathan Motley kept the Bears in the game early, scoring seven of the team’s first 10 points to make it a 10-10 game three minutes in. Put-back layups by junior center Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and sophomore forward Terry Maston gave Baylor a 18-16 lead, but Jackson responded with a three to put Kansas back…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterThe No. 2-ranked Baylor women’s basketball team faces a tough road test against Iowa State at 7 p.m. today in Ames, Iowa. The Lady Bears (21-1, 10-0) defeated the Cyclones (12-9, 3-7) on Jan. 18 in Waco by a score of 68-42. In spite of the loss, Iowa State became just the second team to hold Baylor to under 70 points. Additionally, the Lady Bears held the Cyclones to their first sub-50 point game on the season. Despite the Cyclones’ poor conference record, they have only lost two of those games at home. Baylor junior…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterNo. 21-ranked Baylor men’s tennis remained perfect on the season with wins over No. 15 Texas A&M and No. 23 SMU this weekend at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-Off Weekend at George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas. The Bears (4-0) pulled off the upset Saturday against the Aggies (1-2) after a three-set singles win from freshman Constantin Frantzen pushed the score to 4-3. Baylor started the day off strong in doubles play, with sophomores Jimmy Bendeck and Johannes Schretter taking out Texas A&M’s Jordi Arconada and James Martell, 6-1. Frantzen and sophomore…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor Lacrosse defeated Abilene Christian 19-8 in their season opener Saturday in Waco. Junior Trey Cambere led the Bears with six goals on seven shots, while also dishing out two assists.Baylor won the opening face off, and the Bears wasted no time scoring with senior Danny Hill netting the first goal of the game. Baylor scored three more goals in the first quarter, getting contributions from Cambere, sophomore John Rick and senior Ethan Gwaltney to take a 4-0 lead at the end of the first period. The Wildcats responded with back-to-back scores to start the…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterNo. 5-ranked Baylor men’s basketball will hit the road to face Ole Miss at 5 p.m. on Saturday in Oxford, Miss. The game is a part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, an event that pits teams from each conference against each other to take a break from scheduled conference play. Despite the game not affecting the conference championship race, Baylor junior guard Manu Lecomte stressed the importance of winning.”It is kind of weird that it’s not a Big 12 team,” Lecomte said. “But Coach [Scott] Drew is always hyped about these games, so we’re going…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor Associate Athletic Director Nick Joos is leaving for Missouri after agreeing to be their senior associate athletic director for strategic communications. Joos, who worked as Baylor’s executive associate athletic director for external affairs for more than 13 years, accepted the position at Missouri on Wednesday. During his time in Waco, Joos has seen the Baylor athletics department grow substantially and win 58 Big 12 Conference titles, but he says he is going to miss the people more than anything. “When you package it all up, in 13-and-a-half years, it’s been just a remarkable run…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterThe No. 2-ranked Baylor women’s basketball defeated No. 25 Kansas State 91-49 Wednesday in Manhattan, Kan., to grab their 18th straight win.The Lady Bears (20-1, 9-0) locked down the Wildcats (15-6, 5-4), holding them to just 26.5 percent shooting. Baylor was led by senior guard Alexis Prince, who scored a career high 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting. Senior guard Alexis Jones opened up scoring for Baylor with a pull-up jumper, and K-State junior guard Karyla Middlebrook responded with a three-pointer to give the Wildcats an early 3-2 lead. Prince knocked down back-to-back three-pointers and sophomore…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor men’s basketball continues Big 12 Conference play at 7 p.m. today at the Ferrell Center against Texas Tech.The Bears (18-1, 6-1) are coming off of a road win at TCU, while the Red Raiders (14-5, 3-4) dropped a home game to Oklahoma State on Saturday. Last season, Baylor and Texas Tech split the season series with the each team winning on each other’s home court. The game in Waco was a blowout as the Red Raiders ran away with a 84-66 win. Baylor sophomore guard Jake Lindsey said that while everyone remembers that game,…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterFormer Baylor men’s basketball forward Quincy Acy signed a second 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday after playing four games for Brooklyn on the first 10-day contract.Acy will have five more games to prove his worth before the Nets must decide whether to sign him for the remainder of the season or cut him on Jan. 29.“It was a surreal feeling to be back [in the NBA],” Acy told Newsday.com after his first game with Brooklyn. “I know how hard I’ve worked, and I keep waiting for my opportunity.”In his second game with…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor women’s basketball looks to make it 17 straight wins as they take on West Virginia at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center. The Lady Bears (18-1, 7-0) are in first place in the Big 12 Conference while the Mountaineers (15-4, 3-4) sit at sixth. Baylor won the first game 91-56 on Jan. 4 in Morgantown, W. Va., handing the Mountaineers their first home loss of the season. West Virginia is 15-1 this season in games where they have out-rebound their opponents. Baylor won the rebounding battle 38-23 in the January win. Despite the…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor men’s basketball’s Johnathan Motley and Baylor women’s basketball’s Nina Davis and Alexis Jones were each named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 last week for men’s and women’s basketball, respectively.The John R. Wooden Award is given each year to the most outstanding men’s and women’s college basketball players. Before each season, a list of 50 potential Wooden Award winners is released. This is followed by the Midseason Top 25 in January, which is whittled down to 20 in February. A final ballot is released in March, and the winner is announced in April…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor women’s basketball defeated Iowa State 68-42 Wednesday at the Ferrell Center to register its 16th- straight win.The Lady Bears (18-1, 7-0) scored 52 points in the paint and held the Cyclones (10-8, 1-6) to just 10 in the victory. Baylor senior forward Nina Davis and sophomore post Kalani Brown scored 17 points and 16 points, respectively, to lead the Lady Bears. “When you can just throw the ball to the posts all night and they can score, sometimes you don’t even need to score yourself,” Baylor senior guard Alexis Jones said of the Lady…
I see it almost every day. Walking around campus, there is always someone wearing a T-shirt, sweatshirt or hat that sports another university’s logo. Some of my friends and I have made a game out of spotting them because they’re so common.It is understandable that people have connections to other universities. A large percentage of Baylor students come from Texas, which happens to have a plethora of universities with proud athletic departments and alumni bases. However, just because you have connections to another school doesn’t mean you don’t need to rep your own school once in a while. We live…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor men’s tennis claimed both the singles and doubles titles Monday at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup in Thousand Oaks, Calif. to start the spring season. Monday morning, senior Max Tchoutakian and sophomore Juan Benitez paired up to beat USC’s Robbie Bellamy and Jake DeVine 7-5 to take the crown in doubles.Monday afternoon, Tchoutakian and Benitez faced off for the singles title, which Benitez won 6-0, 6-4.Benitez’s victory marked the fourth singles championship at Sherwood for the Baylor program and the second in a row, senior Julian Lenz won the tournament last year.Baylor men’s tennis head…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterWith Baylor’s men’s and women’s basketball teams being ranked number one and number two, respectively, each team is in the conversation for a Big 12 conference title and potentially a national championship. If either team is going to accomplish such feats, they will have to get through Big 12 conference play with minimal losses.Baylor Men’s BasketballThe Bears (15-1, 3-1) suffered their first defeat of the season Tuesday at West Virginia but remain tied for second place in the conference standings just behind Kansas.The Mountaineers forced the Bears to commit 29 turnovers, stifling an offense that…
Video by Morgan Kilgo | Broadcast Reporter and Ben Everett | Sports Writer Baylor football ended the 2016 season on a high note with a 31-12 blowout win over Boise State in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl, and the Bears will have much to look forward to in the coming years with the staff which head coach Matt Rhule is putting together. Rhule convinced defensive coordinator Phil Snow, Rhule’s defensive coordinator at Temple University, to follow him to Waco. Snow has coaching experience with eight other college programs, as well as four years of NFL experience with the Detroit Lions.…
By Ben Everett | Sports WriterBaylor men’s basketball alumnus and current Dallas Maverick Pierre Jackson logged his first points in the NBA on Dec. 27, 2016, against the Houston Rockets.It was Jackson’s first game with Dallas, and head coach Rick Carlisle lauded his skill within the team’s offense. “I like his quickness, and I like his ability to score,” Carlisle told Mavs.com. “He made a couple of good plays off pick-and-rolls, so I think he’s a guy that can help us a bit. And look, it’s the first day I’ve ever really seen him play in person, but I like…
By Ben Everett | Sports Writer Baylor women’s basketball defeated TCU Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center by a score of 77-54. The Lady Bears (16-1, 5-0) were dominant in the paint, scoring 44 points down low while holding the Horned Frogs (8-8, 0-5) to just 14 points in the paint. Baylor was stifling on defense as well, forcing TCU into 18 turnovers and scoring 23 points off those takeaways. TCU head coach Raegan Pebley praised the Lady Bears for their dominance, but said she expects more from her club. “Baylor is going to be a really tough team for…
By Ben Everett | Sports Writer The number two ranked Lady Bears basketball team seeks to build on its 13 game winning streak Wednesday when it welcomes rival TCU to the Ferrell Center. The Lady Bears (15-1, 4-0) have yet to lose since dropping a road game to the current number one team in UConn on November 17. This past week, they picked up road wins over West Virginia and Oklahoma State to remain undefeated in the Big 12. Oklahoma State head coach Jim Littell was less than pleased about his team’s effort, but praised the amount of talent Baylor…
Ben Everett | Sports Writer Number ten ranked Baylor men’s basketball faces a tough road test Tuesday in Morgantown, W.Va. against number ten ranked West Virginia. The Bears (15-0, 3-0) are coming off of back-to-back thrilling home wins against Iowa State and Oklahoma State, earning the program its first ever No. 1 ranking. Baylor started the season with no votes in the AP poll, motivating them to prove to the national media that they can compete with the best teams. Brussels point guard Manu Lecomte is glad to be at the number one rank but knows the road ahead will…
