Texas Tech men’s basketball head coach Mark Adams knows how to fight a bear.
He and his 19th-ranked team, still without their best player in Terrance Shannon, Jr., showed everybody how to take down a bear when nobody expects it, taking down the top-ranked Bears from Baylor 65-62 Tuesday night at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
Baylor and USC were the two last undefeated Division I teams, but USC lost earlier Tuesday to Stanford, and Baylor now drops to 15-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12.
Texas Tech is now 2-1 in the Big 12 and 12-3 overall, with a 3-3 record against top-25 teams. It’s the Red Raiders’ first win in Waco since February 2016.
First Half: Baylor Starts Red-Hot, Then Scoreless for Last 6:13
Junior guard Adam Flagler made two threes, with a layup from freshman Kendall Brown in between, and they were up 9-0 in nothing flat.
Baylor continued to make shots from everywhere, especially the three-point line, led by Adam Flagler’s 12 points off four three-pointers, as they went up 31-16.
Then, Texas Tech’s defense realized switching to a zone might help, and they held Baylor scoreless for the final 6:13 as the Red Raiders went on a 10-0 run to cut the first-half lead to five, with super senior guard Adonis Arms and junior guard Clarence Nadolny showing their intensity, each with six points in the half.
Arms added five rebounds and four assists, getting it all done for Texas Tech in the half.
Throughout the half, junior guard Kevin McCullar made an impact off the bench despite obviously being hampered by a sprained ankle, with five points and three assists.
Second Half: Everybody Steps up for Red Raiders
Senior forward Kevin Obanor, a transfer from Oral Roberts, had one of his better games this season, scoring nine points in the second half as he finished with 13.
Arizona transfer James Akinjo, Baylor’s leading scorer, scored 13 of his 17 total points for the Bears in the second half, but no other Baylor player scored more than five in the half.
Nadolny gave Texas Tech their first lead with a layup as he got fouled and a free throw on a later possession, giving the Red Raiders a 47-46 lead.
Arms got back to his first half ways and put in a wild layup, but Baylor didn’t go away.
McCullar sunk what felt like a dagger three with 2:39 left, but Flagler made a couple of shots to get Baylor within two points.
Arms came back, took the ball himself and slammed it home with authority to put the Red Raiders up 61-57 with 1:24 left.
It got scary for the Red Raiders when Akinjo made a three and then a couple free throws after an errant turnover by the Red Raiders late, but Baylor couldn’t ultimately make the comeback, and the Red Raiders gave Baylor just their second loss at the Ferrell Center in the last three years.
McCullar, in his first Big 12 game this season, managed to fight and get 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Arms finished with a team-high 14 points, five rebounds and a team-high nine assists, one assist short of a double-double.
(This will be updated with quotes later.)
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