Devonte Bandoo scored 19 points to lead Baylor to a 59-53 win over Oklahoma on Monday night in Waco, Texas.
The Bears (16-8, 7-4 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak. They had climbed into contention near the top of the conference before falling to Texas and Kansas State last week.
Oklahoma (15-10, 3-9) took a fifth consecutive loss as its fleeting NCAA Tournament hopes continue to slip away. The Sooners' skid started with a blowout loss at home to Baylor, 77-47, on Jan. 28.
This time around, the Bears had to fight the whole way.
Baylor led by 11 with less than 11 minutes to go before Oklahoma came roaring back with a 10-0 run, with the final seven points in that stretch coming from Christian James.
The run eventually stretched to 14-2, with the Sooners taking their first lead since late in the first half, 51-50, on Kristian Doolittle's jumper with 4:59 left.
Bandoo answered with his fifth 3-pointer with 4:25 remaining to put the Bears back in front. It was Bandoo's first 3-pointer since late in the first half.
With 2:56 remaining, Baylor's Mario Kegler was called for flagrant foul on James under the basket, giving the Sooners, who trailed by two, a chance to take the lead.
However, James missed both free throws, and Oklahoma turned the ball over on the ensuing possession to keep Baylor in front.
Baylor, one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country, got a couple of critical ones in the final minute by Freddie Gillespie. His rebound and put-back with 36 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.
Jared Butler added 11 points for the Bears, and senior Makai Mason had a career-high-tying eight assists in the win.
Doolittle led the Sooners with 14 points before fouling out in the final minute. James and Brady Manek added 11 each.
Oklahoma shot just 29.6 percent in the second half and was just 3 of 16 (18.8 percent) from behind the arc in the game. Baylor hit 10 of 22 3-point attempts, shooting better from behind the arc (45.5 percent) than inside it (34.4 percent).
--Field Level Media
Oklahoma | Baylor | |
Kristian Doolittle 14 | Scoring | Devonte Bandoo 19 |
Jamal Bieniemy 3 | Assists | Makai Mason 8 |
Rashard Odomes 10 | Rebounds | Mario Kegler 7 |
Brady Manek 3 | Free Throws Made | Mark Vital 3 |
Kristian Doolittle 2 | Steals | Mark Vital 3 |
Jamal Bieniemy 1 | Blocks | Freddie Gillespie 3 |