DALLAS (AP) — Keyonte George scored five straight points that gave Baylor the lead for good and finished with 19 and the 11th-ranked Bears beat Washington State 65-59 Sunday night in the final game of the Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge.
George, a freshman guard who has started every game for Baylor, converted two free throws that put the Bears ahead 44-43 with 10:32 left in the second half. Following a steal by Dale Bonner on Washington State’s next possession, George hit a fadeaway 3-pointer for a 47-43 lead with 9:46 to go.
“It comes with trusting my teammates and also trusting my work,” George said.
He also led Baylor (8-2) with 22 points in its win over Tarleton State on Dec. 6 when the team’s two top scorers, LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler, were sidelined by injury and illness.
Flagler added 12 points for Baylor, which came in averaging 84.6 points, 12th-best in Division I.
Jabe Mullins, back in the lineup after missing four games with a knee injury, led the Cougars (4-6) with 16 points off the bench in 29 minutes. TJ Bamba added 14 points and Justin Powell 12.
“I probably played (Mullins) too much, but he was playing really well,” Cougars coach Kyle Smith said.
BIG PICTURE
Washington State: When will the Cougars put their planned starting five on the court? Mullins, the team's No. 2 scorer averaging 14.2 points, returned to the lineup as a reserve. They've played all season without projected starters Dishon Jackson (a center, out indefinitely with an unspecified medical issue) and forward F Andrej Jakimovski (a guard, foot injury).
Baylor: Played its first game after 11 days off, and will now play three games in 11 days. Will their win over Washington State be enough to return them to the top 10? That would likely require voters deciding No. 6 Tennessee's loss at No. 9 Arizona this week slots them behind the Bears.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Will the Bears’ only win of the week, by six points over a team with a losing record, be enough to return them to the top 10? That would likely require voters deciding No. 6 Tennessee’s loss at No. 9 Arizona this week slots the Volunteers behind Baylor.
TIP-INS
Bamba went in leading the Cougars averaging 16.7 points per game. He was held to three in the first half, when he shot 1 for 5 and picked up three fouls. He played much of the final 10 minutes with four fouls. … Baylor outscored Washington State 26-18 in points in the paint behind the inside play of Flo Thamba (eight points, six rebounds) and Josh Ojianwuna (seven points). … The announced crowd of 4,200 was mostly fans of Baylor, whose campus is located about 100 miles south of Dallas in Waco.
UP NEXT
Washington State: Faces George Washington on Thursday in the first of three games at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu.
Baylor: Hosts Northwestern State on Tuesday.
