By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
The final 3:03 of No. 17 Baylor’s 67-64 victory over Arkansas Saturday should have left no doubt who is the man for this team.
Freshman Keyonte George has earned that title.
A 7-point outburst and nine points over that timespan wasn’t about hero ball. It was about who wanted the ball when it mattered. A driving layup with contact, floater and 3-pointer helped the Bears win their sixth straight in front of a capacity crowd of 10,627 at the Ferrell Center. George finished with 24.
The Razorbacks led 53-49 with less than five minutes to play when LJ Cryer, who finished with 20, hit a floater and Adam Flagler dropped two free throws to tie it. Mo Thamba also dropped two free throws with 3:37 remaining to give Baylor a 55-53 lead.
But it was George who created the separation with those plays during a 10-0 Baylor run along two free throws with five seconds to play.
However, the Razorbacks still had one last chance. On a smart foul by Cryer with three seconds remaining, Arkansas’ Devonte Davis missed the front end of a 1-of-1. But the ball kicked to the corner where Razorback guard Joseph Pinion retrieved and fired from the arc. However, his shot hit the side of the backboard and harmlessly bounced away.
In the final edition of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, these old Southwest Conference foes played an old-style half court game. Baylor built a 19-8 lead early but went on a 1-for-17 drought and didn’t score in the final 4:13 to tail 33-27 at halftime.
It then became a tug-o-war. The leader wasn’t greater than four for either side before the Bears run. There were six lead changes.
The oddity of it was that Arkansas shot nearly 51 percent for the game – Razorbacks' leading scorer Ricky Council IV finished with a game-high 26 – while Baylor shot only 34 percent. However, the difference was taking care of the ball. The Bears committed only eight. The Razorbacks committed 15, which led to 13 Baylor points.
Early Arkansas fouls in the second half also allowed Baylor to get to the line often. The Bears capitalized and were 21-24.
With this being the final edition of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, Baylor completes with the best record of any team in either conference at 8-2.
Baylor is back on Big Monday at 8:00 p.m. in Austin to take on No. 10 Texas.
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