Lecomte Nets 30 In Baylor's 76-60 Win Over Oklahoma State
WACO (AP) — Manu Lecomte never lost confidence when he was struggling with his shot and a sore shoulder. The Baylor senior guard knew things would eventually change — and they did Monday night.
Lecomte scored 25 of his career-high 30 points after halftime as the Bears beat Oklahoma State 76-60.
"It felt good. I think I needed it individually," Lecomte said. "But one thing is I never give up. ... I still believe in myself. I'm still a good shooter, I know things are going to change."
After blowing a 10-point lead and trailing at halftime, the Bears (12-6, 2-4 Big 12) went ahead to stay when Lecomte hit a 3-pointer on their first shot of the second half.
Lecomte finished 11-of-17 shooting, including 7-of-12 3-pointers to match his career high for made 3s — all but one after halftime. He was coming off a 2-of-12 shooting game at Iowa State on Saturday, and had already had two 3-of-11 performances and a 1-for-11 in conference play.
"He's got the confidence of the team and the players made sure he knew the only time they're upset with him is if he turns down shots," coach Scott Drew said. "It was great to see him get on a roll in the second half and give us separation."
The Bears made three consecutive 3s in a 77-second span, with Jake Lindsey's long-range shot sandwiched by a pair from Lecomte, to go ahead 42-34 with 12 minutes left.
"He got going, and he led his team to the win," Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said of Lecomte.
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. had 12 points for Baylor, while Mark Vital had career highs of 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Cameron McGriff had a career high 16 points for Oklahoma State (12-6, 2-4), and Tavarius Shine had 14.
BIG PICTURE
Oklahoma St.: The Cowboys couldn't pull off another late big comeback. They were coming off a 65-64 win at Texas, where they overcame a 12-point deficit in the final 5:55. After coming back before halftime, Oklahoma State fell behind quickly after the break and trailed by 20.
Baylor: The Bears had lost their last two. They haven't had a three-game losing streak in four years, since losing five in a row from Jan. 15-28, 2014.
BEYOND THE ARC
Lecomte also had seven 3s against Savannah State on Dec. 17 when he scored 25 points, his previous season high. The school record for 3s in a game is 10, set by LaceDarius Dunn against Morgan State on Jan. 4, 2011. The Bears' Big 12 record is nine by Dunn at Kansas State on Jan. 21, 2009.
FOR STARTERS
Jeffrey Carroll, playing his 100th career game for Oklahoma State, finished with only eight points on 2-of-12 shooting. He had averaged 19 points over his previous eight games. The Cowboys starters, led by Carroll, combined for only 20 points.
"If you don't get a lot out of guys that start, that usually play the majority of the minutes, if they're not going to play well in this league, it's going to be hard to win unless you have incredible quality of depth and can throw five other guys in there," Boynton said. "We're not at that point yet."
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE
One of the loudest cheers of the night came from students when an announcement was made during a timeout in the second half that there would be no classes on the Waco campus Tuesday because of anticipated icy weather overnight.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State is home Saturday against No. 4 Oklahoma, closing out the regular-season series between the instate rivals. The Sooners won 109-89 in Norman on Jan. 3.
Baylor plays three of its next four games on the road, starting Saturday at No. 10 Kansas.
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