By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
A day of great anticipation finished with great celebration.
For an absence of 357 days following a devastating knee injury against Texas on Feb. 12, 2022, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua returned and delivered eight points and the sellout crowd at the Ferrell Center crowd rejoiced in Baylor's blowout win over Texas Tech. The Bears swept the season series from the Red Raiders and have won eight of the last 11 meetings.
Everyday Jon drilled two 2 3-pointers - the first that pretty much tore the roof off the home building - and then a layup from a beautiful feed from Langston Love.
This is exactly the way head coach Scott Drew envisioned this season with this team playing. Shoot a solid percentage from both inside and outside the arc. Take care of the basketball. Frustrate the opposition.
West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges, who has been in double figures in all but one Big 12 game, got hot from the arc with two deep ones and led the Bears with 18 points. One-and-done Keyonte George kept to his season average with 17. Adam Flagler added 13.
The Bears broke from a spell where they had been in 30s for the past three games. They finished 53.8 percent and 41.7 percent from the arc. They only turned it over eight times.
A tight game at the half, Tech closed to 38-36 in the opening seconds. That was it. Baylor stretched this game into double figures with a 16-4 run and never looked back.
Baylor stays at the Ferrell Center on Wednesday and will play Oklahoma.
Postgame Quotes
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua
It was amazing just to get a chance to play in front of this crowd after 355 days. I’ve been counting the days. It was just surreal. I remember praying in my bedroom last night, just crying about all the trials that I’ve been going through and realizing the day is actually here. I’m actually playing. I feel like it was a miracle for me to even be out here. I don’t know if this is public, but I was not supposed to be back this early. God just blessed me all the time and made my body strong and fast and made me come back from the injury.
(How did you keep your hopes up) I just used my faith and my girlfriend and the coaching staff because I didn’t want to listen to anything negative about my injury. I only took in positive energy, things like you’re going to play this year, you’re not going to stay out for two years, you’re going to be back for practice. You’re going to get better. I just thought about positive stuff and getting better every day.
(How many surgeries) I had two surgeries with different ligaments.
(Emotions when you first came in) To be honest with you, I don’t think I heard my name because the gym was just so loud. Like from the time coach told me to first get in, it was so loud that I couldn’t hear anything. It felt unreal at that moment, and I was just thanking God for putting me in that position and giving me his platform.
(Hitting first 3) It was fun. It was just another shot I’ve been working on. I feel like God allowed me to have extra time to work on my game and I used it.
(Putting emotions aside to play game) It’s funny because I just tried to take in my emotions the day before. I thought about and prayed about it and thanked God for it. I prayed before the game and after warmup. I wanted to showcase for the world that the Lord can make a miracle. We’re nothing without him and gave me the confidence that I was able to play knowing that I’m solid.
(What made this the right time to play) I prayed about it a lot. I’ve had little mental battles with it. At the end of the day, nobody would expect me to be the same player and I had some mental battles. In a way, I was thinking maybe I’m not good enough because I was comparing myself to my old self and maybe I’m a different player. But at the end of the day, I came back from a really bad injury and I’m using the grace to help me and it took me such much time to embrace that and move on and just pray about it, and praying to God to show me what was the right decision to make. The closer I got to this day, the more excited I was about it. I was excited to just go out there.
Jalen Bridges
(What did it mean to the team for Jon to be back) I feel like it’s everything. Ever since this summer, he’s the hardest worker. He’s doing something, he’s in the gym almost all day. Every time I come in the gym, I see Jon. He’s a huge part of our team. Even when he wasn’t playing, he was leading. He’s our best leader, and now to have him back out there with us it’s everything. He’s the heart of our team.
(Defense picked up with Jon) He’s out there, he’s vocal, he’s talking to everybody. He’s not just worried about guarding his own man, he’s the anchor of our defense. So it helps a lot when he’s out here.
(Second half) It was a close game at halftime and we came out and wanted to get some stops defensively. The Culture of Joy really showed. We were sharing the ball and not worrying about ourselves. We were making good passes to open cutters and getting one more for 3s. We were out there jelling, so when it gets like that it’s hard to stop.
Publisher
A day of great anticipation finished with great celebration.
For an absence of 357 days following a devastating knee injury against Texas on Feb. 12, 2022, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua returned and delivered eight points and the sellout crowd at the Ferrell Center crowd rejoiced in Baylor's blowout win over Texas Tech. The Bears swept the season series from the Red Raiders and have won eight of the last 11 meetings.
Everyday Jon drilled two 2 3-pointers - the first that pretty much tore the roof off the home building - and then a layup from a beautiful feed from Langston Love.
This is exactly the way head coach Scott Drew envisioned this season with this team playing. Shoot a solid percentage from both inside and outside the arc. Take care of the basketball. Frustrate the opposition.
West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges, who has been in double figures in all but one Big 12 game, got hot from the arc with two deep ones and led the Bears with 18 points. One-and-done Keyonte George kept to his season average with 17. Adam Flagler added 13.
The Bears broke from a spell where they had been in 30s for the past three games. They finished 53.8 percent and 41.7 percent from the arc. They only turned it over eight times.
A tight game at the half, Tech closed to 38-36 in the opening seconds. That was it. Baylor stretched this game into double figures with a 16-4 run and never looked back.
Baylor stays at the Ferrell Center on Wednesday and will play Oklahoma.
Postgame Quotes
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua
It was amazing just to get a chance to play in front of this crowd after 355 days. I’ve been counting the days. It was just surreal. I remember praying in my bedroom last night, just crying about all the trials that I’ve been going through and realizing the day is actually here. I’m actually playing. I feel like it was a miracle for me to even be out here. I don’t know if this is public, but I was not supposed to be back this early. God just blessed me all the time and made my body strong and fast and made me come back from the injury.
(How did you keep your hopes up) I just used my faith and my girlfriend and the coaching staff because I didn’t want to listen to anything negative about my injury. I only took in positive energy, things like you’re going to play this year, you’re not going to stay out for two years, you’re going to be back for practice. You’re going to get better. I just thought about positive stuff and getting better every day.
(How many surgeries) I had two surgeries with different ligaments.
(Emotions when you first came in) To be honest with you, I don’t think I heard my name because the gym was just so loud. Like from the time coach told me to first get in, it was so loud that I couldn’t hear anything. It felt unreal at that moment, and I was just thanking God for putting me in that position and giving me his platform.
(Hitting first 3) It was fun. It was just another shot I’ve been working on. I feel like God allowed me to have extra time to work on my game and I used it.
(Putting emotions aside to play game) It’s funny because I just tried to take in my emotions the day before. I thought about and prayed about it and thanked God for it. I prayed before the game and after warmup. I wanted to showcase for the world that the Lord can make a miracle. We’re nothing without him and gave me the confidence that I was able to play knowing that I’m solid.
(What made this the right time to play) I prayed about it a lot. I’ve had little mental battles with it. At the end of the day, nobody would expect me to be the same player and I had some mental battles. In a way, I was thinking maybe I’m not good enough because I was comparing myself to my old self and maybe I’m a different player. But at the end of the day, I came back from a really bad injury and I’m using the grace to help me and it took me such much time to embrace that and move on and just pray about it, and praying to God to show me what was the right decision to make. The closer I got to this day, the more excited I was about it. I was excited to just go out there.
Jalen Bridges
(What did it mean to the team for Jon to be back) I feel like it’s everything. Ever since this summer, he’s the hardest worker. He’s doing something, he’s in the gym almost all day. Every time I come in the gym, I see Jon. He’s a huge part of our team. Even when he wasn’t playing, he was leading. He’s our best leader, and now to have him back out there with us it’s everything. He’s the heart of our team.
(Defense picked up with Jon) He’s out there, he’s vocal, he’s talking to everybody. He’s not just worried about guarding his own man, he’s the anchor of our defense. So it helps a lot when he’s out here.
(Second half) It was a close game at halftime and we came out and wanted to get some stops defensively. The Culture of Joy really showed. We were sharing the ball and not worrying about ourselves. We were making good passes to open cutters and getting one more for 3s. We were out there jelling, so when it gets like that it’s hard to stop.
