Devonte Bandoo and MaCio Teague scored 10 points each, and Mark Vital made a game-saving block in the final seconds as No. 11 Baylor handed visiting No. 18 Butler its first loss of the season, 53-52 on Tuesday in Waco, Texas.
Baylor (8-1) led by four points when the Bulldogs' Bryce Nze hit a free throw with 2:39 left to bring Butler to within one possession. Kamar Baldwin then cut the deficit to 53-52 on a layup with 1:14 to play.
The Bulldogs had a chance to take the lead, but Baldwin was called for a charge on a three-on-two fastbreak opportunity with 35 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Baylor missed a jumper, giving Butler another chance. Vital then blocked Baldwin at the rim with 1.5 seconds to play, and the Bears had enough to hang on.
It was the third win of the season for Baylor against a ranked team after beating Villanova and Arizona in the past two weeks. The Bears have won seven consecutive games.
Baldwin scored 19 points to lead the Bulldogs (9-1), with Sean McDermott contributing 16 points in the setback.
Baylor was up by as many as 16 points late in the first half before settling for a 34-24 advantage at halftime. The Bears outshot Butler 45.2 percent to 32.1 percent in the half with Bandoo leading the way with 10 points.
Baylor also outrebounded the Bulldogs 21-12 in the half and got 14 points from its reserves while Butler's bench players were scoreless.
Baldwin paced Butler with nine points in the half.
Butler found some life midway through the second half, using a 10-4 run capped by Baldwin's layup to cut the Baylor lead to 44-40 with 10:07 to play. Baldwin's jumper from the free-throw line with 4:29 left brought the Bulldogs to within 51-49, but the Bears responded with a steal and a dunk by Vital on the ensuing possession.
--Field Level Media
Butler | Baylor | |
Kamar Baldwin 19 | Scoring | Devonte Bandoo 10 |
Kamar Baldwin 3 | Assists | Davion Mitchell 3 |
Aaron Thompson 8 | Rebounds | Freddie Gillespie 9 |
Bryce Golden 2 | Free Throws Made | MaCio Teague 3 |
Khalif Battle 1 | Steals | Davion Mitchell 2 |
Bryce Nze 2 | Blocks | Freddie Gillespie 3 |