Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Baylor 65, Iowa State 63
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Where: Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas
Officials: # Tom Eades, # Darron George, # Joe DeRosa
Attendance: 7582

WACO, Texas -- Second-ranked Baylor fought back from a late six-point deficit and fended off Iowa State for a 65-63 victory on Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center.

Guard Manu Lecomte penetrated the Iowa State defense and lofted a shot over the outstretched arm of Iowa State guard Matt Thomas from about 10 feet near the baseline. Lecomte's shot fell through the hoop with eight seconds left and proved to be the winner.

Cyclones guard Monte Morris took a baseline jumper from 15 feet as time expired, but it came up short.

Forward Jo Lual-Acuil scored 15 points to lead Baylor, forward Johnathan Motley added 13 and guard Jake Lindsey added 10.

Guard Nazareth Mitrou-Long scored 17 points to lead Iowa State, Morris added 12 and guard Deonte Burton had 11.

The Cyclones went ahead 61-55 when Morris hit a jumper with 5:33 left, but the Bears finished on a 10-2 run.

Iowa State went on an 8-2 run early in the second half to take a 45-40 lead when guard Deonte Burton hit a jumper in the lane with 14:10 left.

The Cyclones led until they fell into a two-minute drought, which Baylor converted into a 6-0 mini-run. The Bears regained the lead when forward Terry Maston hit a jumper from point-blank range to put Baylor in front 53-52 with 9:25 remaining.

The game featured seven ties and nine lead changes.

Baylor used its size advantage in the frontcourt early in the game to build an 11-3 lead after Lual-Acuil had two dunks and Motley added one.

Iowa State answered with a 6-2 run later in the half. Mitrou-Long hit a 3-pointer and Morris capped the surge with a jumper that tied it at 16.

The Cyclones consistently used the 3-point shot to reel in Baylor leads in the first half.

The Bears pulled ahead 28-21 on a jumper by Lecomte. But Cyclones guards Nick Weiler-Babb and Thomas hit treys on back-to-back trips down the floor, cutting the Baylor lead to one.

Iowa State was 8 of 15 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. Conversely, Baylor made just 2 of 12 from 3-point range.

Even so, Lual-Acuil scored 10 points in the first half to help the Bears take a 37-36 lead to the break.

Baylor outrebounded Iowa State 26-18 in the first 20 minutes and held the Cyclones to 39 percent shooting from the field.

NOTES: Baylor entered with a four-game winning streak in its series against Iowa State. The Cyclones led the all-time series 17-14, but the Bears had an 11-2 advantage on their home court. ... Iowa State was attempting to start Big 12 play with a 2-0 record for the third time in four seasons. Iowa State opened conference play with a four-point loss at No. 3 Oklahoma last season. ... Baylor began this season unranked, but has since moved up to a program-record-high ranking of No. 2 this week.
Top Game Performances
 
Iowa State   Baylor
Nazareth Mitrou-Long 17 Scoring Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. 15
Monte Morris 5 Assists Ishmail Wainright 8
Monte Morris 7 Rebounds Johnathan Motley 12
Monte Morris 3 Free Throws Made Al Freeman 4
Deonte Burton 2 Steals King McClure 1
Merrill Holden 1 Blocks Jake Lindsey 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Iowa State 63 39.3 10-22 5-11 16 26 1 7 5
Baylor 65 44.1 3-17 10-15 15 43 3 2 13