Baylor Tops Texas

By Chad Conine, The Sports Xchange

WACO, Texas — Baylor forward Johnathan Motley said he put in the work on the boards, and it led to a career-best offensive rhythm.
That was how Motley explained his 32-point, 20-rebound effort that led the sixth-ranked Bears to a 74-64 victory over Texas on Tuesday at the Ferrell Center.
“It’s just a crazy rhythm you get as a basketball player,” Motley said. “It’s one of those things you can’t really explain. I made a conscious effort to rebound as much as I could. Scoring-wise, I was just in a rhythm.”
Both Motley’s points and rebounds were career-high totals as he became the fourth Baylor player to post 30 and 20. Bears forward Nuni Omot scored 14, and guard Al Freeman had 10 to join Motley in double figures.
“Motley is really good,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “The thing that he keeps getting better with is his motor. That’s how he got a lot of those rebounds. He just stayed with them and kept fighting, went after them. Anytime you get 30 and 20, that’s really impressive.”
Forward Jarrett Allen scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Texas. Guard Andrew Jones added 15, and forward Shaquille Cleare had 14 before he fouled out with 10:42 to play.
The Longhorns shot just 36 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes after keeping pace with Baylor during the first half.
Baylor (17-1, 5-1 Big 12) grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and turned them into 18 second-chance points. The Bears, who trailed on the boards in the first half, finished with a 41-29 rebounding edge.
“We just were more aggressive going to the glass in the second half,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “First half, a lot of times on shots we were getting only one rebounder in there. Second half, we got a lot better effort with two and three rebounders.”
Motley grabbed an offensive rebound and converted it with a slam dunk with 11:27 remaining. He screamed and pumped his fists following the jam that put Baylor ahead 54-42.
However, then Motley inexplicably pushed off Allen and received a technical foul.
That was the lone blemish on Motley’s otherwise stellar game.
“I just tried to make sure I bounced back and don’t let one mistake lead to two,” Motley said.
Texas (7-11, 1-5) started fast and held the lead for most of the first half.
Allen threw down a dunk to start the game, and Cleare made a couple of inside baskets for an early 8-4 edge.
Cleare, who scored 10 in the first 20 minutes, added another basket in the paint for a 14-9 lead with 12 minutes left before halftime.
Baylor battled back late in the half with an 9-0 run as guard Jake Lindsey lofted an alley-oop pass to Omot, then Lindsey and Freeman hit 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor.
Smart said his team failed to match Baylor’s energy at the close of the first half.
“The game shifted about three-quarters of the way through the first half,” Smart said. “There was an energy shift, that’s what led to Baylor’s run.”
Lindsey’s trey tied the game at 27 and Freeman’s put Baylor ahead for the first time in the contest, 30-27, with 3:45 to go before the break.
“We started getting some stops and then got in transition, and that group that was out there was really energized, really playing well,” Drew said. “They kind of feed off of each other. Momentum swung in our favor and we were able to capitalize.”
Motley and Omot each scored nine points to lead the Bears in the first 20 minutes. Freeman added eight points, helping Baylor take a 38-31 advantage at halftime.
Texas had a slight edge in rebounds (16-15) and shooting percentage (48-47) in the first half, but the Longhorns gave up 11 turnovers in the same period.

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