Baylor Basketball: Johnathan Motley explodes to help Bears top Red Raiders

Baylor Basketball avoided a major upset by hanging on to beat Texas Tech 65-61.

The Baylor Bears held on to defeat the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Waco on Wednesday evening, 65-61.

Johnathan Motley got Baylor off to a hot start, helping them build a 10-point lead in the game’s opening minutes. Motley scored 25 on the night, including 15 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed nine rebounds, which turned out to be a huge difference-maker for the Bears. Al Freeman and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. each added seven for Baylor, while Manu Lecomte chipped in 10 points and dished out five assists.

The Red Raiders would battle back early, though. Justin Gray hit a couple notable shots in the first half to keep Baylor from blowing the game wide open, and solid team defense on the road against the No. 5 team in the country made this game interesting down the stretch. Texas Tech left for the locker room at halftime down just one point.

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Baylor was never able to build a lead any bigger than six points in the second half, largely due to their unreliable shooting from beyond the arc. They hit 22 total field goals in the game, 17 of which were from inside. Motley and Lecomte combined to take 23 of the team’s 48 shots (48 percent), making just eight of those attempts.

Texas Tech hung around, even coming within just two points of tying the game when Keenan Evans sunk two free throws with 38 seconds left. While they never led, they played with poise even into the final minutes of the game.

While Baylor was able to escape with the win, they had considerable weaknesses exposed by the unranked Red Raiders. Should Motley be faced with a formidable one-on-one match-up down low, their options become severely limited. We will get a better idea of whether this Baylor team has what it takes to compete deep into March when they matchup with No. 2 Kansas on February 1.

Texas Tech and their first-year head coach Chris Beard showed why despite being 3-5 in the Big 12, they have a bright future ahead of them. After earning notable wins against then-ranked No. 7 West Virginia and No. 25 Kansas Sate, they gave the No. 5 team a run for their money in their own arena.

Justin Gray continues to anchor this gritty, determined squad. He finished with 12 points and four rebounds while also recording one steal and one block. Aaron Ross came off the bench to score 14 points in 19 minutes on 4-of-7 shooting. As a team, Texas Tech only turned the ball over seven times, which is incredible given that they were playing in Waco. The pressure of facing the No. 5 Bears amplified by the full crowd and student section surprisingly had very little effect on Texas Tech.

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Had they not been out-rebounded by 10, or should they have gotten to the free throw line more often, they would’ve had a legitimate chance at coming away with a major upset on the road. These two teams match up again on February 13th in Lubbock, and it will definitely be a game worth watching.

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