Baylor’s defense fuels 58-51 win over A&M; ‘Felt like they had six guys out there,’ Turgeon says
Baylor’s 58-51 win over Texas A&M wasn’t pretty, but it keeps the Bears hanging on for their NCAA tournament lives by a thread. Here are some observations from the game.
–Call inspired, energetic or whatever else you’d like – Baylor’s defense was the best it has given all season, both from an onlooker’s view and on the stat sheet. A&M’s .352 field goal percentage (19-54) is the lowest of any Big 12 Baylor opponent this season. Helping the Bears’ defensive cause were eight blocks, tying a season high (Nov. 29 vs. Prairie View A&M, Jan. 2 vs. Texas Southern) and topping their previous Big 12 high by two (Jan. 22, six blocks vs. Oklahoma State). “It felt like they had six guys out there, and they were everywhere,” Aggie head coach Mark Turgeon said.
–For the second time this season, Perry Jones III was the efficient answer the Bears were looking for. Jones III shot 7 of 13 from the field and tied LaceDarius Dunn’s 16 points to lead Baylor. Jones III hadn’t scored that many since his last game against the Aggies when he dropped 27 points. Saturday he struck early and hit from both inside and out. The rivalry with A&M, Jones III said, gets him even more pumped to play. “The history, the rivalry. And probably the trash-talking on the floor,” Jones III said about what comes to mind before playing the Aggies. “It’s just that energy, and that great history that both schools have against each other.”
–BoBo Morgan had the defensive game of his Baylor career. He came up with three huge blocks that helped set the tone early in each half. Just over two minutes into the game, he rejected Ray Turner twice on the same possession and snagged a defensive rebound on the other end that led to an A.J. Walton layup. A minute into the second half, Morgan sent David Loubeau’s shot flying into the courtside seats. “I think BoBo’s been playing his best basketball at the end of the season. These last few games, he’s been super and [he's] really giving us a lift and doing a tremendous job,” coach Scott Drew said.
–Yet again, Dunn was the cause of several crowd groans early in the game and eruptions of cheer in the latter stages. He struggled to 2 of 8 in the first half and took some ill-conceived shots, but he hit two key 3-pointers to help the Bears pull away. His first answered back-to-back A&M layups that cut the lead to 41-39. The Aggies got within five at 48-43, prompting a Bears timeout at 3:40, but Dunn then struck again with another deep trey. “They were big shots. But I credit my team for finding me,” Dunn said.
–Speaking of Walton, he limited himself to three turnovers and notched four assists. Two of those came in one bad stretch, in which he turned the ball over twice in 10 seconds. But his overall game did not hurt the Bears, which is more than could be said in other Big 12 games. “I thought he did a great job, especially in more of a half-court game where there’s fewer possessions,” Drew said. “He really managed the ball well, got the ball to the right spot.”
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