AUSTIN — To have a shot at the NCAA tournament, Baylor knew it had to slip into somebody’s arena and quietly steal a road game somewhere along the way.

But there was nothing quiet about the No. 24 Bears’ 80-77 overtime win over Texas before a packed house of 16,734 fans Saturday at the Frank Erwin Center.

This win resounded across the college basketball landscape.

The game had history written all over it for the Bears, who knocked off the Longhorns for the first time in Austin since 1998 to break an 11-game losing streak. The No. 6 Longhorns are the highest ranked team Baylor has ever beaten on the road.

“You really saw the heart of our players today,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “It’s tough to win here, and we understand what a great team they are. Everyone knows how talented they are. As a coach, you get into coaching for games like this.”

Baylor guard Tweety Carter celebrates an upset win in Austin on Saturday as Texas center Dexter Pittman walks to the bench.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Last year, the Bears snapped a 24-game losing streak to the Longhorns in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City. But winning Saturday’s game might have been even more impressive since the Longhorns (18-3, 4-2) were No. 1 in the country two weeks ago before losing three of the last four games.

Texas had won 16 straight home games, including all 12 this season.

“This is a great win for us, but it doesn’t stop here,” said Baylor guard Tweety Carter, who scored a game-high 27 points. “We know we can compete with anybody on any given day. We just have to keep on playing like we did tonight. I don’t know the last time we won here, but this is big.”

When the exhausting game was over, the Bears celebrated and pointed toward the upper deck of the arena where a group of Baylor students sat. A section of fans from the Bear Pit made the trek to Austin to see the dramatic win.

Rebounding from K-State

Coming off a gut-wrenching 76-74 loss to No. 11 Kansas State on Tuesday at the Ferrell Center, the win couldn’t have come at a better time for the Bears (16-4, 3-3).

“We needed this one bad,” Baylor forward Ekpe Udoh said. “Coach told us we couldn’t leave here without a win.”

Leading by 14 early in the second half, the Bears looked like they would cruise to the win. But with an intense fullcourt press that forced numerous turnovers, the Longhorns gradually kept cutting into the lead until the Bears were on the ropes.

Texas was on the verge of winning when Damion James hit a pair of free throws with 32.9 seconds remaining followed by another free throw by J’Covan Brown with 16 seconds left to grab a 64-62 lead.

With the clock ticking down, a heavily covered Udoh tossed up a 3-point shot that flew over the basket into the hands of teammate Anthony Jones. Jones instantly put the ball back in the basket to tie the game with 0.3 seconds left in regulation.

“I didn’t think Ekpe would shoot, but I knew I had to get the board no matter what,” said Jones, who only scored four points but led the Bears with 11 rebounds. “The ball just fell into my hands.”

“It was a great pass,” Udoh joked.

After missing all 11 field goal attempts in regulation, Udoh came back in overtime with a passion as he drove into the lane for three quick baskets. The last basket was the most emphatic as he powered inside for a dunk to give the Bears a 71-67 lead with 2:52 remaining.

“That’s why Ekpe is such a leader,” Drew said. “No matter what he had done before in the game, he knew he had to let it go. For him to come up big at the end showed his heart and courage.”

Baylor holds lead

The Bears never relinquished the lead that Udoh gave them in overtime, but it got dicey. The Longhorns twice had chances to tie the game, but Gary Johnson made just one of two free throws with 20.9 seconds remaining before Justin Mason nailed one of two free throws with 12 seconds to play.

Baylor forward Anthony Jones forces overtime with a putback basket following an offensive rebound with less than a second remaining in regulation. The Bears now have a two-game winning streak against the Longhorns. Texas had a 24-game streak before a loss in last year’s Big 12 tournament.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Mason’s last free throw trimmed the lead to 78-77, but Baylor freshman guard A.J. Walton came up big with 10.2 seconds remaining as he buried a pair of free throws to open up an 80-77 edge.

Walton played superbly for the Bears as he collected 14 points on six of seven free throws and four of five field goals while leading the defense with six steals.

“It was crazy,” Walton said. “I was nervous at first, but as the game progressed I just had fun.”

Official review

A game like this couldn’t end without some drama, and there was plenty in the final seconds. Brown tried to tie the game for Texas with a 3-point attempt, but his shot bounced off the rim. After Texas’ Avery Bradley and Baylor’s Quincy Acy scrambled for the ball along the sideline, the officials ruled it was Baylor’s ball with 0.7 seconds remaining.

But after reviewing the play on the sideline television monitor, the officials reversed the call and gave the ball to Texas with 1.2 seconds remaining. After Bradley missed a trey at the buzzer, the Bears could finally celebrate a hard earned win.

The Longhorns looked glum in the postgame interview room after the tough loss. Nobody took it harder than James, who finished with 19 points and 20 rebounds before fouling out with 38 seconds remaining in overtime.

“Baylor just came in and played a great game,” James said. “We played hard, but it’s frustrating. A loss hurts whether it’s home or away. I needed to be a leader, but I made mistakes and missed easy shots.”

The win was especially gratifying for the Bears since two of their best players, Udoh and LaceDarius Dunn, watched the dramatic ending from the bench after fouling out.

“When you lose guys like Lace and Ekpe, you’re asking a lot from your other guys to step up,” Drew said. “If Anthony Jones hadn’t made that shot at the end of regulation, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

jwerner@wacotrib.com

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