Tuesday, December 23, 2008
By John Werner
Tribune-Herald staff writer
If Curtis Jerrells hadn’t pulled off a triple-double, it might have been a blue Christmas for Baylor.
Jerrells collected 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the No. 21 Bears to a 74-59 win over a stubborn Hartford club before 5,219 fans Monday night at the Ferrell Center.
Bears down Hartford
It was Baylor’s first triple-double since Brian Skinner collected 24 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocked shots against Eastern Washington in 1997. Jerrells recorded just the fourth triple-double in Baylor history and the ninth in Big 12 history.
“Curtis has always been a great player and the sky is the limit for him,” Hartford guard Jaret von Rosenberg said. “We played against each other a bunch of times in AAU ball. At 6-2 and 200 pounds, it’s tough to match up against his size, strength and speed.”
With 40 to 50 family members and friends in the arena, it was also a big night for von Rosenberg. The Waco native moved away from Central Texas after second grade and graduated from Sharyland High School in Mission, Tex. He finished the night with 19 points and nine assists.
“This was one I circled on my calendar,” von Rosenberg said.
The Hawks (4-8) were in position for the upset until the Bears (10-1) went on an 11-1 run to end the game. Baylor senior guard Henry Dugat scored seven points in the final minutes to finish with 16 and become the 21st player in school history to join the 1,000-point club.
“Hartford played a very different style that’s going to help us when we play teams like Colorado,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “They went backdoor a lot. But our defense picked up at the end, and we did what we needed to do to win the game.”
The Hawks knew they couldn’t get into a running game with the Bears, so they slowed down the pace and used a lot of ball movement to work for shots. Every time the Bears pulled out to a double-digit lead, the Hawks made key shots to make it a close game.
After the Bears opened up a 45-32 lead with 15:20 left in the game, the Hawks buried four treys to cut the lead to 54-51 with 9:15 remaining.
The Bears stretched their lead to 63-53 after Jerrells scored on a pair drives, but the Hawks trimmed it back to five on one possession. Michael Turner buried a trey before Tweety Carter was called for a foul under the basket against von Rosenberg. He hit both free throws to cut Baylor’s lead to 63-58 with 4:27 remaining.
“If we had played a game in the 90s, their talent would have taken over,” Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz said. “For the most part, the tempo was where we wanted it. But Baylor applied a lot of on-ball pressure the whole game and wore us down. They made a run at the right time and we didn’t have anything left.”
Dugat started Baylor’s closing run with a jumper and then hit a pair of free throws on two straight possessions. After von Rosenberg was called for traveling, Jerrells knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Bears a 71-58 lead with 1:26 remaining.
Jerrells completed his triple-double by passing the ball to Kevin Rogers for a basket on a fast break with 42.6 seconds remaining. Rogers needs just one point to join Baylor’s 1,000-point club.
“Someone reminded me that I was close to a triple-double,” Jerrells said. “I made sure I got the ball to Kevin.”
Jerrells tied his career high with 10 assists and recorded a personal best with 11 rebounds. With LaceDarius Dunn and Carter both scoring 14 points, the Bears shot 51.2 percent overall.
“Any time you face a slow- down team like Hartford, it’s tough,” Rogers said. “With the leadership and the veterans we have on the team, we were able to come through with a victory.”
jwerner@wacotrib.com
757-5716
Commenting is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F, except on Tuesday when it's open until 9 p.m.
Post a comment
*HTML not allowed in comments. Your e-mail address is required.