Baylor Dominates Sam Houston State

By Chad Conine, The Sports Xchange

WACO, Texas — Baylor viewed its mid-week nonconference game against Sam Houston State as a possible trap game following the Bears’ tournament victory at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
But the ninth-ranked Bears never came close to falling in the trap as they eased past Sam Houston State, 79-45, on Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center.

Baylor reserve guard King McClure led the way with 14 points, fellow guard Al Freeman had 13 and forward Johnathan Motley scored 8 and grabbed 14 rebounds.
The Bears grabbed a 10-0 lead sparked by a Freeman 3-pointer and a dunk by forward Jo Lual-Acuil in the first six minutes.
Baylor never let up from there.
“We knew that if we didn’t come to play, this could be a trap game for us,” Freeman said. “So we wanted to give our best effort and try to get the win.”
Forward Aurimus Majauskas led Sam Houston State with 13 points. But the Bearkats (4-3) struggled from the field as they shot 28 percent.
Baylor defeated a string of high-profile opponents at the Battle 4 Atlantis last week. The Bears were a little sluggish on the offensive end in their return to their home floor, but Baylor coach Scott Drew was pleased with his team’s defense.
“To hold Sam Houston State to 45 points is tremendous and 28 percent field-goal-percent defense,” Drew said.
Baylor (7-0) began the second half on an 11-2 run to take a 45-19 lead and never let Sam Houston State back within 20 points.
Baylor’s zone defense stifled Sam Houston for the entire first half, holding the Bearkats to 20 percent shooting from the field. Sam Houston’s attempt to shoot over the zone from beyond the arc also failed as the Bearkats hit 2 of 14 from 3-point range.
The Bears stretched out a 34-17 lead by the break. Guards Manu Lecomte and King McClure led the way on the offensive end as they combined for 15 points and each hit 2 of 3 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
Baylor excelled from beyond the arc the entire game as it hit 13 3-pointers in 31 tries.
“They gave you the 3, so you want to take the 3,” Drew said “We knew we would have good looks from 3. What we wish we’d done is give us a chance to get the ball inside.”
McClure nailed 4 of 7 from beyond the arc. He continued a trend after scoring 15 in a win over 10th-ranked Louisville last week.
“After the Louisville game, I feel like I just gained my confidence back,” McClure said. “When I saw the ball go through the basket one time, I was able to continue to see it.”
Sam Houston missed its first 13 shots from the field and went scoreless until guard Albert Almanza made an inside jumper with 13:11 remaining in the first half.
“What did we miss in that period, four, five six layups?” Sam Houston State coach Jason Hooten said. “As a coach you’re thinking ‘I think we’re doing what we need to be doing, we’re just not making the shot.’ Because I think we missed so many more shots, you just get frustrated and then all the sudden you’re not scoring and now your defense is not as good. Our first half, I attribute everything to the lack of us making shots.”