Austin, Texas — Sir’Jabari Rice scored 21 points and Timmy Allen added 19 to send No. 10 Texas to a 76-71 win over No. 11 Baylor on Monday night, ending the six-game winning streak of the Bears and the Longhorns in one share were held first place in the Big 12.
Rice made four 3-pointers in the second half and his two free throws with 16 seconds left gave Texas a five-point lead in the final points.
Baylor had closed to 72-71 after Keyonte George’s three-point game before Texas responded with a fallaway jumper from Marcus Carr with 27 seconds remaining. It was Carr’s first goal of the second half and only his second of the game.
Rice, a 29% 3 point shooter in the Big 12 game, was 4 of 5 long range shots. Allen was 7 of 10 off the floor and made two free throws in the last minute that put the Longhorns (18-4, 7-2) four ahead.
“That’s what this league is about. You have to put your hat on and come to work every day. It was one of the toughest games I’ve been in since I’ve been here,” Allen said. “In the Big 12, that’s what it takes every night.”
Baylor had fought back from nine points down in the first half to tie it with 38 points after halftime on first possession. Texas responded with a quick 8-0 run, cut short by a Tyrese Hunter three-pointer, a put-back dunk by Dillon Mitchell and Allen’s quick jump over two defenders.
Rice’s 3-pointers kept any chance of a Baylor rally at bay, and Texas was never behind in the second half.
LJ Cryer scored 19 points to lead four Baylor players by double digits.
Baylor (16-6, 5-4) trailed 70-68 and had a chance to take the lead in the last two minutes, but Adam Flagler threw a quick 3-pointer that missed before Allen hit his two late free throws made.
“It’s hard to have a long winning streak in this league,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew. “You can play well and lose games.”
Baylor had won 12 of the previous 13 matchups with the Longhorns.
“They had our number,” Texas caretaker coach Rodney Terry said. “We had to find a way to do this thing. We were at home.”
MISSING POINTS
Carr, Texas’ top scorer this season, had a rare evening off as a shooter. He was just 2 of 8 off the ground and failed to score in double figures for the third time this season and the first time since December 12.
“The guys picked each other up,” Rice said. “Obviously Marcus didn’t have the game that everyone is used to, but he still made sure we were confident that we were playing defence… Things like that gave us the win.”
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: The Bears fell in love with the 3-pointer and couldn’t break free against a Texas defense that denied shot after shot near the basket. Baylor was 8 of 26 from distance and only made two in the second half.
“We can’t be told what we do,” Cryer said.
Texas: The Longhorns had at No. 2 Tennessee suffered a loss when Terry complained that the Longhorns allowed themselves to be pushed around in a physical duel. They had no such problems against the Bears and could almost match the Bears in terms of rebounds and points in the suit.
“(Terry) challenged us on defense. He challenged us to do better. We’re not a team that’s used to going tough. We had to respond physically and mentally,” Allen said.
NEXT
Baylor hosts Texas Tech on Saturday.
Texas plays at No. 7 Kansas State on Saturday.
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