 had an 18-2 run early in the second half to go ahead to stay, and led by as many as 18 points, Texas State (2-2) cut the gap to 61-55 with 4 minutes left. That was after Nijal Pearson, who finished with 20 points, converted consecutive turnovers into 3-pointers.''They had two runs on us in the first half and second half. I was pleased with our guys making a spirited comeback on both occasions,'' Texas State coach Danny Kaspar said. ''But Baylor's very good on the perimeter. We played them without Clark and I know that's a big loss.'' Clark had a non-operative procedure on his knee this week. The junior forward was limited to 14 games last season because of a knee injury at the start of Big 12 play, but had played in Baylor's first two games.Texas State trailed by 13 points about eight minutes into the game before finishing the first half with a 24-11 run to tie the game at 30-all. The Bobcats scored the last eight points of the half, with four different players making baskets.DeShawn Davidson made the first basket after halftime to put Texas State ahead before Baylor scored nine in a row to ignite that 18-2 run.''I think a lot of inexperience once we get a lead either we get tired or we just don't focus as much,'' Drew said. ''Time and score, we like to say a lot of times, but with young players it doesn't always register.'' MaCio Teague added 12 points for Baylor, while Devonte Bandoo had 11 and Mark Vital had 10.Caleb Asberry scored 12 for Texas State, and Marlin Davis had 11.QUICK SHOTSButler has led the Bears in scoring in all three of their games this season. ... It was Gillespie's second consecutive double-double. ... Baylor is 61-4 in non-conference home games since December 2012. ... Texas State and Baylor played for the first time since November 2006. The Bears have won 10 of the last 11 matchups and lead the overall series 13-3.BIG PICTURETexas State: Fresh off a 24-win season, the Bobcats had eight returning players and two starters back. They showed signs of playing with the Bears, but eventually could not keep up with the more athletic Big-12 contenders.Baylor: Even without Clark, the Bears bounced back nicely a week after blowing a 13-point lead to previously unranked Washington in Anchorage, Alaska.''We just really focused in on what we needed to do. We locked in on defense and that turned into offense,'' Teague said about their finish Friday.UP NEXTTexas State goes home to play Jackson State on Monday night.Baylor heads to Conway, South Carolina, to play in the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Bears will play three games in four days, starting Thursday against Ohio.---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Nov 14, 2019The 2019-20 season is in just its second week, but opponents Texas State and No. 24-ranked Baylor meet Friday in Waco, Texas, having already logged considerable travel.Baylor (1-1) is playing its first game since dropping a 67-64 decision to Washington in Anchorage, Alaska, on Nov. 8. The Bears led that one almost for the duration after making the 10-plus-hour trip, but scored just one point in the final 5:38."We really struggled to score," Baylor coach Scott Drew said afterward, per the Waco Tribune. "When the (3-point shots) start to dry up, you've got to get second-chance points, and we only had two." Baylor's 8-of-21 3-point shooting against Washington was a dramatic departure from the 18-of-33 shooting the Bears had in a season-opening rout of Central Arkansas.A cold second half from behind the arc mirrored the woes vexing Baylor's Friday night opponent in its one loss this season.Texas State (2-1) went 3-of-18 from deep, compounding a 10-of-20 performance from the free-throw line in a 78-71 loss at Air Force last Saturday. A lengthy trek to Colorado Springs preceded the Bobcats' shooting woes."When you go to Air Force, and you get up at 5:30 in the morning, and you catch a plane to Dallas," said Texas State coach Danny Kaspar in his press conference following a win over Prairie View A&M on Tuesday. "You wait two hours, then you catch another plane to Colorado Springs, and now you're in rarefied air. Then we play the next day, And our guys, I don't think, were quite ready to play that game." Texas State bookended the loss at Air Force with home wins over Texas Lutheran and last season's Southwest Athletic Conference NCAA Tournament representative, Prairie View A&M.Senior guard Nijal Pearson scored 19 and 23 respectively in the Bobcats' wins, and 14 at Air Force. Pearson is Texas State's most potent scorer, and has been since his freshman season. His per-game averages climbed from 13.3 in 2016-17, to 15.2 in 2017-18, and 16.4 a season ago.Pearson earned first-team All-Sun Belt Conference recognition a season ago.With about 130 miles separating San Marcos and Waco, travel figures to have less of an impact on the Bobcats' performance Friday. For Baylor, it's the first home game since the Bears ushered in the season with the first Division I game of 2019-20 on Nov. 5.The Bears shot the lights out in that one, paced by Jared Butler's 30 points. Butler again led the Bears with 18 points against Washington, and accounted for half of the team's 3-pointers.His teammate on the interior and preseason All-Big 12 Conference honoree Tristan Clark is still working his way back to peak production, coming off a knee injury sustained in January.Clark scored three points against Central Arkansas and seven vs. Washington, yielding much of the inside scoring responsibility to Freddie Gillespie. Gillespie is coming off 11 points and 10 rebounds in Alaska, after putting up 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor in the opener.--Field Level Media
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