By Steve Habel, Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas — The scoreboard at the Frank Erwin Center after double overtime in Monday’s game between Texas and Baylor announced in big, bright lights that the Bears found a way to outlast the Longhorns, 74-73, in a grind-it-out win, a result that handed Texas its season-worst third loss in a row during a brutal stretch of the relentless Big 12 Conference campaign.
The hope now is that the stinging defeat, after which the Texas players remained in the Cooley Pavilion locker room to “hash things out” and did not participate in postgame interviews, is the ultimate impetus for a Longhorns’ turnaround and a NCAA berth a month from now.
“We’ve lost three straight games and we obviously have to find a way to win,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said after the defeat. “We were one play away tonight. Our job is to find a way to be one play better and to have our guys continue to rally around a common cause. Our guys made so many plays tonight — we just didn’t make the last one.
“If we are one play better, then we win.”
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The last one was a doozy as Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.’s putback dunk after a missed shot by Manu Lacomte with 6 seconds to play lifted Baylor to the crucial Big 12 Conference victory, one that vaulted the Bears past Texas in the league standings and allow them to sweep the season series from the Longhorns.
That could be a crucial denominator for the tournament selection committee in choosing between Texas and Baylor when the postseason comes around.
“I knew Mo [Bamba] was going to try to come over and try to block Manu’s shot so I just turned to the basket and waited for the ball if it came my way,” Lual-Acuil said. “It was a big win for us. We need to string together as many wins as we can to make a statement and build a strong resume for the NCAAs.”
Texas had a chance to win the game, but Kerwin Roach II’s desperate drive under duress with 2 seconds left glanced off the rim and was corralled by Baylor.
Terry Maston scored career-high 26 points, including 12 in the two overtimes, as Baylor ground out the win while outshooting Texas 45.6-percent-36.1 percent. The Longhorns made just three of their 19 three-point attempts.
Texas had five players log 43 or more minutes in its third game in six days. That grind definitely affected the Longhorns’ shooting percentage but did little to dent their determination.
“To be right there despite shooting 3-for-19 on threes tells a lot about how hard our guys worked tonight,” Smart said. “Our guys are really upset and angry because it was a game in which they put their egos aside and came out attacking and battling. Obviously our team can get better and Baylor played well tonight, so they should get some of the credit. “
Lecomte added 16 points for Baylor while Lual-Acuil hit for 14 points and took down 11 rebounds for the Bears (16-10 overall, 6-7 in Big 12 play).
“Every team wants to win as many as they can, and this season teams in this league might get in (the NCAA tournament) with seven or eight conference wins,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said after his team won its fourth straight. “This was a tough battle, but we made the plays to win and we are getting better.”
Bamba led Texas (15-11 overall, 5-8 in Big 12 play) with 16 points and 16 rebounds while Matt Coleman, Roach and Dylan Osetkowski added 15 points each for the Longhorns.
Coleman led all scorers in the low-scoring first half with 7 points while Lecomte paced the Bears with 6 points. Texas had 16 total rebounds over the first 20 minutes of play and Bamba had eight of them.
Coleman’s three-pointer and layup on successive possessions in the final minute brought Texas to within 55-54 with 26.6 seconds to play. After Lacomte hit one of two chances from the charity stripe, Coleman drove to the basket and drew a foul with 12.6 seconds remaining that tied the game at 56.
After two Coleman free throws cut the Baylor lead to two points, Texas forced a shot-clock violation and had a chance to tie or win the game with 7.6 seconds to play. Roach drove the lane, was fouled with 3.2 seconds remaining and made both free throws to force a second overtime.
“We had some good looks inside that we didn’t put away,” Smart said. “In double overtime, when we had the lead, we didn’t put it away. The bottom line is that we came up short. We take things game by game and we try to get better.”
Texas now heads to Norman, Okla. for a Saturday rematch with No. 23 Oklahoma.
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