No. 25 Baylor Wins 100-91 In OT Over No. 13 Iowa State
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WACO (AP) - Maybe Baylor coach Scott Drew can figure out a way for Johnathan Motley to feel like he's facing Iowa State all the time.
Motley scored seven of his 27 points in overtime, matching his career high set last month against the same 13th-ranked Cyclones, and the 25th-ranked Bears ended a three-game Big 12 home losing streak with a 100-91 victory Tuesday night.
"We're going to make sure someone has an Iowa State jersey every time we play," Drew said.
Playing without big man Rico Gathers, who missed his second game in the last three because of illness, the team that has been so good on the road in the Big 12 (league best-matching 4-2) won again in the Ferrell Center. The Bears had last won a home conference game in double overtime against Kansas State on Jan. 20, 10 days before beating Georgia in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
"I wouldn't say we're more focused. I just think we just know the things we have to do better when he's out," Taurean Prince said of Gathers. "Just leadership, everybody knew what was at stake. Even before the game, we talked about it being a must win."
There were 14 ties and 14 lead changes in the game that began with both teams having identical records.
Baylor (19-7, 8-5 Big 12) never trailed in overtime and went ahead to stay with 3:19 left in overtime when Lester Medford hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 87-84. After Deonte Burton missed badly on a 3-pointer, Prince had a bounce pass to Motley for an emphatic two-handed dunk.
Terry Maston had 15 points for Baylor, while Medford, Prince and Al Freeman all had 14. Motley had 10 rebounds.
The Cyclones (18-8, 7-6) had three 20-point scorers: Abdel Nader with 26, Georges Niang with 24 and Monte Morris with 20. Burton had 14.
Iowa State just missed winning the game at the end of regulation, but instead suffered its third overtime loss on the road in the Big 12.
"We played hard, put ourselves in position to win on the road," coach Steve Prohm said. "Frustrating thing is you look at our road losses in this league, which is a terrific league -- lost three games in overtime and we lost one we had the ball down two and missed a shot. That part is frustrating."
After Burton blocked Motley's shot with 10 seconds left in regulation, the Cyclones took off the other way.
Morris missed a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left and came up with his own rebound. He took another shot that went into the basket, but officials immediately ruled that it came after the buzzer -- and replay confirmed that.
Baylor had a 78-73 lead with 3 minutes left in regulation after Motley's dunk, but Nader -- who had 19 points after halftime -- hit a 3-pointer and Morris hit a tying jumper after Niang got a steal on a turnover by Motley.
Motley's two free throws with 1:32 left tied the game at 81, which was the score going into overtime.
Gathers, Baylor's top rebounder with 10.2 per game, had also missed the Bears' 10-point win at Kansas State last Wednesday before playing Saturday against Texas Tech.
"He wasn't feeling well this morning, started to feel a little better and got woozy after practice," Drew said. "We'll get him to the doctor tomorrow."
BIG RUN INTO HALF
Baylor finished the first half on a 10-0 run, which started when Freeman picked up his dribble and then twisted and pivoted to make a layup while being fouled. He added the free throw. The Bears went ahead when Motley had a tip-in of Medford's missed 3-point attempt, and then followed another Iowa State miss when Medford penetrated inside before giving the ball to Freeman for a reverse layup. It was 41-35 at halftime after Motley passed to Medford for a 3 from the top of the key.
TIP-INS
Iowa St.: Niang surpassed 2,000 career points, and is fifth nationally among active NCAA players. He passed former Iowa State coach and player Fred Hoiberg for third on the Cyclones' career scoring list. ... The Cyclones still lead the series 17-14, but have lost the last four.
Baylor: At halftime, Freeman had 10 points and five others had six each. ... The Bears are 19-0 this season when they take a lead at any point after halftime. ... Baylor is 10-10 against Top 25 teams the past two seasons.
UP NEXT
Iowa State hosts TCU on Saturday.
Baylor is at No. 24 Texas on Saturday.
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