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 For a night at least, Texas reversed the trend as the Longhorns
overcame the 14th-ranked Bears 61-59 in overtime Monday at the Frank
Erwin Center.
Texas guard Isaiah Taylor hit a floater in the lane with four
seconds left in overtime, and forward Myles Turner blocked Baylor
guard Kenny Chery's attempt to answer at the other end as time
expired.
The Longhorns had the ball with the chance to win at the end of
regulation and overtime. In the extra period, Taylor let his
teammates know in a timeout with 21 seconds left that he wanted the
ball.
"My teammates pulled us into overtime," Taylor said. "Going into
that timeout, I told my teammates just get me the ball and I'll get
the bucket, and that's what I did."
Texas (18-12, 7-10 Big 12) snapped a four-game losing streak. Baylor
(22-8, 10-7) saw its four-game winning streak end.
However, Longhorns coach Rick Barnes wasn't completely relieved that
the losing streak is over, saying that he still was looking for a
complete effort.
 "A little bit disappointed, too, that we don't do it all the time,"
Barnes said. "A couple guys are too nonchalant. It can't be. But the
second half, I think there were a lot of things that if we could get
it all the time, it would make all the difference in the world."
Guard Demarcus Holland led Texas with 12 points. Guard Kendal Yancy
added 11, and guard Javan Felix scored 10.
Baylor forward Taurean Prince scored a game-high 17 points. Bears
forward Rico Gathers contributed 12 points and a game-high 11
rebounds.
A melee broke out after Taylor and Baylor forward Royce O'Neale both
dived for a loose ball with 1:57 left in overtime. The incident
resulted in seven total ejections, four for Texas and three for
Baylor, all for leaving the bench area. No technical foul shots were
taken, and the coaches for both teams said they didn't expect
further suspensions to result from the incident.
"I was disappointed the game had to end like that as far as players
leaving and being ejected for coming off the bench," Baylor coach
Scott Drew said. "Coach Barnes and I were pleased the players on the
court maintained their cool and the ones that came off the bench
didn't do anything that would get them suspended. That's a plus
because this time of year you don't want to lose anybody."
Texas forward Jonathan Holmes tied the game 54-54 with a 3-pointer
from the left side with 1:04 left in regulation, the first time the
Longhorns pulled even since early in the first half.
Longhorns forward Prince Ibeh swatted a layup attempt by Chery with
34 seconds left, giving Texas a chance at the last shot in
regulation. However, Holmes missed from near the same spot where he
connected moments earlier. Holland got the rebound but couldn't get
a shot off before the buzzer.
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Baylor made just one of its first 14 field-goal attempts in the
second half and scored just four points in the first eight minutes
after halftime. Texas took advantage of the Bears' scoring
drought, cutting a seven-point halftime deficit to one when Felix
hit a 3-pointer with 13:55 left.
Baylor found the range again after Prince broke the spell with a
layup. Prince added a 3-pointer, and guards Lester Medford and Al
Freeman hit 3-pointers.
When Bears forward Johnathan Motley nailed a jumper from the
free-throw line, the Bears had a 13-4 run to grab their largest lead
of the game, 48-38 with 6:38 left.
However, Texas bounced back with a 16-6 run, capped by Holmes' tying
3-pointer.
"They made their runs, and we didn't stick together," Chery said.
"They converted and we didn't."
Baylor shot 29.2 percent from the field in the second half, 33.3
percent for the game. Texas shot 40.7 percent overall and blocked 11
Bears shots, six by Turner.
"Our 11 blocks are huge, too," Barnes said. "Myles is getting so
much better defensively right now."
NOTES: Texas' four players ejected for leaving the bench were C
Cameron Ridley, F Connor Lammert, G Kendal Yancy and F Prince Ibeh.
Baylor's three players ejected were F Johnathan Motley, G Austin
Mills and F John Heard. ... Texas' Rick Barnes became the ninth
active coach to reach 400 wins at his current school. He has a
400-178 record in 17 seasons with the Longhorns. ... Texas played
its fifth consecutive game against an opponent ranked in the AP Top
25, the first time the Longhorns faced such a run in program
history. Monday's win was the Longhorns' first in that span. ...
Baylor fell to 9-1 against teams from the state of Texas this
season.
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