The Bearcats (12-4, 1-2 Big 12) fall to Baylor (13-2, 3-0) 62-59 in a defensive hard fought chess match on Saturday night. The Bearcats showed tremendous fight after another huge night from sophomore guard Dan Skillings finished with a game high 24 points and six rebounds on (9-14 FG).
The Bears on the other hand continued to prove they are a very balanced and high-powered offense after four players scored in double figures after a huge second half from Ja’Kobe Walter. The freshman phenom finished with a team high 14 points, all in which came in the second half, after the potential NBA lottery pick was held scoreless in the first half.
Other notable stats, Day-Day Thomas finished with 15 points, John Newman finished with a team high seven rebounds, while Jamille Reynolds finished with seven points and six rebounds. Now for the Bears, Langston Love finished with 14 points, (11 in which came in the first half). The Bears shot an effective 46% from the field as they continue to show why they are one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country. While the Bearcats on the other hand shot 39% from the field but continued to struggle on the road from behind the arch, finishing just 4-21 from deep, with all four makes from Skillings Jr, while the rest of the team was 0-15 from behind the arch.
The Rundown
Wes Miller and the Bearcats would be shorthanded tonight vs the #14 Baylor as seven-footer Aziz Bandaogo would be unavailable after reaggravating his back injury in the Bearcats loss to Texas earlier this week. That would be a desperate blow for the Bearcats as Viktor Lakhin and Jamille Reynolds, now embrace a bigger role in efforts to contain talented freshman Yves Missi.
The Bears jumped out to an early 7-2 lead over the Bearcats after five quick points from RayJ Dennis as the talented point guard was looking to set the tone early. However, the Bearcats would tie the game at nine with 15:17 remaining in the first half after four quick points from Day-Day Thomas. The crafty point guard would quickly find his stride to start this game, which was a great sign after struggling over the last two games.
The Bearcats came out of the under 16 media break and establish the ball inside as Jamille Reynolds quickly set the tone after scoring six quick points to give the Bearcats their first lead of the night. Reynolds was making an immediate impact, which was a great sign to see early for the Bearcats. Baylor guard Langston Love would come off the bench for Scott Drew and fire up five quick points, as the Bears talented back court set the tone early.
The Bearcats were doing a great job containing talented guard Ja’Kobe Walter was held scoreless through the first ten minutes of play, which was an interesting sight to see early. Walter was looking to get downhill and attack, but Jamille Reynolds made it tough to get anything going after consecutive defensive stands. The Bearcat’s defense was making it very tough for the Bears early after knocking down their first five shots of the night, they would go ice cold shooting just 2 for 11 before Love buried a three, to give the Bears a 21-20 lead.
This game would be notched up at 27 heading to halftime, in what looked to be a defensive chess match through the first twenty minutes of play. The Bearcats were doing a great job keeping Baylor off the three-point line as they shot just 30% from three in the first half, which is the Bears bread and butter. The Bears were very off balanced in the first half, as they averaged nearly 88 points per contest heading into this one but was held to a season low 27 points. Despite, holding the Bears without a field goal for nearly six minutes of play, the Bears still found a way to shoot nearly 40% from the field in the first half. That was simply due to their talented guards as Love and Dennis combined for 18 of the Bears 27.
An interesting note, the Bearcats held Bears leading scorer Ja’Kobe Walter scoreless through the first half of play and that was a huge plus. The 6’5′ guard was flustered early it seemed, due to the Bearcats size and length at the rim and that was the difference maker in the first half. That was a great sign as John Newman completely erased Walter’s presence in the first half after being named to the Wooden Award midseason watch list earlier this week.
The Bearcats, started the second half with a seven-to-zero run behind five quick points from Thomas, forcing the Bears to call an early timeout trailing, 36-29. The Bearcats wanted to get out and attack early, as Thomas made it a priority to push the tempo to start the second half. However, that was something that is also one of the Bears strengths, and it wouldn’t take long for them to respond to the Bearcats early punch.
Love buried a wide-open corner three, after the Bearcats defense collapsed sparking an 11-point run, as they took a 42-38 lead with ten minutes remaining in the first half. A run, that started with Walter, showing his NBA potential with a tough finish, after sneaking by Reynolds for the scoop and score, for his first field goal of the night. The offensive run lit a spark that the Bearcats didn’t want to see, as they turned it up on the defensive end as well, holding the Bearcats without a field goal for nearly six minutes of action.
Skillings would silence the Bears fifteen point run after burying his second made three pointers of the night to cut the Bears lead to three. The Bears 1-3-1 defense made it really impossible for the Bearcats to get anything going offensively, which is something that has bothered the Bearcats all season long. The Bears would keep their foot on the gas, after forcing Lakhin to pick up his fourth foul with nearly nine minutes to go.
Walter would start to turn up for the Bears, after a tough running bank shot over Simas Lukosius gave the Bears a 51-45 lead with six minutes remaining. The freshman phenom has simply taken over this game, and if the Bearcats didn’t find a way to stop him once again, this could get out of hand. The Bearcats would strike within four, after Skillings snatched a huge offensive rebound after out muscling multiple defenders for the easy putback. Skillings, followed with a huge corner three, to cut the Bears lead to three, as the Bearcats trailed 53-50 with 3:44 remaining.
The Bearcats needed a spark on the offensive side of the ball and Skillings was just that for the Bearcats as the sophomore rattled off the last 12 points for the Bearcats to make it a two-point game. The Bearcats would then be forced to play the final minutes without Lakhin, who fouled out with nearly two minutes remaining, which was a huge loss down the stretch.
The Bearcats would cut the lead to one after Thomas got downhill and finished for the easy layup with just over forty seconds left. The Bearcats came up with two crucial stops on the defensive end as the Bearcats looked to finish in dramatic fashion after being on the other end of things earlier this week vs Texas. The Bearcats got a huge offensive rebound with 15 seconds left with a shot to win the game, but Baylor called timeout following the inbounds play.
The Bearcats would get a great look out of the timeout, but Lukoisus three-point attempt rattled around the rim and bounced out. The Bearcats would then foul to get one last look, but the Bears would rise to the challenge and sneak out with the victory.
However, the Bearcats showed tremendous fight tonight and they continued to prove why they belong here in the Big 12. They not only battled with a talented Baylor team on the road, in a very tough hostile environment, but they handled it with ease despite being a brand-new arena. The Bearcats have now recorded back-to-back performances on the road after holding BYU and Baylor to season lows in scoring.
Up Next
The Bearcats (12-4, 1-2 Big 12) will be back in action this Tuesday at 7pm when the welcome in red hot TCU to Fifth Third Arena. The Horned Frogs are coming off consecutive victories over top 10 opponents after beating #9 Oklahoma and #2 Kansas over the last week.
