Keyonte George scored the last seven Baylor points of a game-deciding 13-2 run as the No. 17 Bears downed Arkansas 67-64 on Saturday afternoon at Waco, Texas.
George finished with 24 points and teammate LJ Cryer poured in 20 points to go with Jalen Bridges’ 10 points and seven rebounds.
The game, which was part of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge, became a defensive tussle until George got cranked up for the Bears (16-5).
Ricky Council IV’s 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting and Davonte Davis’ 16 points paced Arkansas (14-7), which fell to 0-5 in true road games.
Cryer made two free throws with 10 seconds left to help seal the outcome.
It was a tight second half between teams that had gained momentum in recent games in their respective conferences.
George’s 3-point basket pushed the score to 62-55 with 1:21 to play.
After Arkansas stretched its scoring run to 13-0 with Council’s jumper on the first possession of the second half, the Bears got moving. Baylor pulled ahead at 45-44 on George’s three-point play.
Arkansas led 53-49, but the Razorbacks went more than four minutes without scoring as Baylor caught up and went ahead by using a 10-0 run.
With 3 1/2 minutes remaining, the teams had combined for 40 field goals and 35 fouls.
Baylor benefitted from a 21-6 edge in free-throw scoring.
Arkansas used an 11-0 run across the final four minutes of the first half to claim a 33-27 lead at the break. Davis scored the final five of those points, though neither team scored in the last 90 seconds of the half.
The Razorbacks hit 60.9 percent of their shots in the first half, when they converted three three-point plays. A 22-15 rebounding advantage also helped Arkansas’ cause in the opening half.
Baylor made only 24.2 percent of its shots from the field in the first half despite a solid start to the game.
Cryer scored 10 points in the first 7 1/2 minutes as Baylor took a 14-5 lead.
It was a ragged opening 10 minutes for Arkansas, which shot 3-for-10 from the field and committed seven turnovers. Council had 10 of the first 20 points for the Razorbacks.
–Field Level Media
