Red Raider Recap: No. 5 Baylor 65, Tech 61

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14-6 (3-5B12)

No. 5 Baylor

19-1 (7-1B12)

Texas Tech

#5 Baylor

Red Raider Recap: No. 5 Baylor 65, Tech 61

January 26, 2017 | Men's Basketball

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The Red Raiders return home to face LSU on Saturday as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

WACO, Texas – The Texas Tech men's basketball team attempted the go-ahead three-pointer in the closing seconds and nearly earned its third Top 25 victory of the season, but No. 5 Baylor came away with the 65-61 decision after a bizarre ending Wednesday at the Ferrell Center.

Down 63-61, Keenan Evans raced down the floor after he received the ball from Zach Smith following a defensive stop. Baylor's Ishmail Wainright dislodged the ball from Evans with contact at the top of the key. Evans was able to recover the ball after a brief scramble and shot a three-point attempt which Wainright blocked.

The whistle blew with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. After a conference, the officials determined that the whistle was inadvertent and awarded the ball to Baylor off the possession arrow. The Bears took advantage and connected on both free throws to seal a four-point win.

Texas Tech (14-6, 3-5 Big 12) was handed back-to-back losses for the first time this season. It also marked the first time in Chris Beard's Division I coaching career that he was dealt consecutive defeats. Baylor (19-1, 7-1 Big 12) remained undefeated at home and moved into a first-place tie with Kansas in the Big 12 standings.

"I'm proud of our guys, and I enjoyed sitting on that bench tonight watching those guys compete against a really good team," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "Congratulations to Baylor, I thought they came out ready to play. I like Scott Drew. I don't know him that well. I was in this league when he got the job a long time ago. I've just watched him from afar, and I've got a lot of respect for what Baylor does. They've got good players, and they put their players in situations to play. He's a positive guy, and his teams don't beat themselves. We took a step forward tonight but life in the Big 12 – sometimes you can play well, but you don't get the results you're looking for. Congratulations to Baylor."

The trio of Evans, Aaron Ross and Zach Smith accounted for 22 of their 32 points during the second half. Ross registered a team-leading 14 points over his 19 minutes of action and played with four fouls for a majority of the second 20 minutes.

Evans secured 10 points, three assists and three rebounds to extend his career-long streak to nine straight games in double figures.

Justin Gray dialed up all 12 of his points in the first half and was 6-of-9 from the floor. He added four rebounds and two assists.

Smith picked up eight points and four rebounds. Like Ross, Smith worked his way around foul trouble in both halves.

Niem Stevenson tacked on eight points aided by a pair of three-pointers. He teamed with Ross to give Texas Tech a 22-16 advantage in bench points.

Anthony Livingston chipped in five points whereas Devon Thomas added four points. Shadell Millinghaus provided a spark with three assists, two steals and two rebounds.

Texas Tech converted on 24-of-58 from the field but was only able to knock down 4-of-18 on three's. The Red Raiders made the most of their limited chances at the charity stripe going 9-of-10. Texas Tech amassed 32 of the game's 50 points in the paint.

Baylor shot 17-for-48 overall and 5-for-21 from beyond the three-point line. The Bears sank 26-for-28 on the foul line and used their interior size to possess a 35-25 rebounding edge.

Johnathan Motley, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, poured in a game-high 25 points coupled with nine rebounds. He also took advantage of an effective and efficient outing on free throws where he rattled home a 15-for-16 clip. Manu Lecomte tacked on 10 points and five assists for Baylor.

Baylor ripped off 12 of the opening 14 points of the contest and led by as many as 21-9 at the 10:22 mark of the opening half.

The Red Raiders sliced the margin in half courtesy of back-to-back treys from Livingston and Stevenson 37 seconds apart.

Texas Tech continue to work its way behind strong defense and held the Bears to one field goal over the final 11 minutes of the opening stanza. However, the Bears were able to manufacture 11 of their last 13 points on free throws highlighted by nine from Motley.

Trailing 27-19 with 5:56 remaining, Evans broke his man off the dribble and dialed up a one-handed floater in the lane. Then, Gray went to work behind three midrange jumpers to trim the deficit down to 28-27 with 2:44 left.

The Red Raiders went ahead on a pair of brief one-point leads down the stretch, but Baylor found itself up 32-31 at halftime.

Baylor pushed its lead back out to six points on multiple occasions, but Texas Tech responded each time to keep the game within arm's length. A Ross traditional three-point play off a spin move brought the score from 53-47 to 53-50 at the 6:21 mark.

The Red Raiders made it a one-point game 34 seconds later when Millinghaus stole the ball and fed Evans for a layup off an outlet pass. However, Baylor answered on its next possession with a three-ball.

The two teams traded baskets for the next three minutes, but the Bears were able to creep back ahead 63-56 with 1:20 on the clock following a Motley dunk and two free throws.

Ross canned a triple at the top of the key, and Evans hit on two free throws to bring the score back to 63-61 with 38.4 seconds. Texas Tech elected not to foul and received the defensive stop it was looking for before the final sequence.

"It seemed like we couldn't get on a run," Beard said. "We'd get three or four stops and couldn't make a basket. Then when we scored four to five times, we couldn't get a stop … You have to get on runs against Baylor to change the momentum. Tonight, it was back-and-forth. I thought we played well."

Next up, Texas Tech squares off with LSU as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday. Tip time is slated for 1 p.m. CT from the United Supermarkets Arena, and the game will be televised by ESPNU along with the Watch ESPN app.

Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TexasTechMBB along with @TexasTechMBB on Twitter and Instagram.