Big 12 Roundup: Baylor hangs on, topples Tigers 81-80

? Matt Sayman needed a lot of iron to give Baylor a rare win over a Top 25 team.

The first of Sayman’s two free throws with 11 seconds left rattled all over the rim before falling in to tie the game. He then swished the second one as the Bears (14-9, 4-7 Big 12) knocked off No. 22 Missouri, 81-80, Saturday night.

Baylor's John Lucas, center, drives around Missouri guards Josh Kroenke and Wesley Stokes, far left. The Bears squandered a double-digit lead, but held on to defeat the Tigers, 81-80, on Saturday at Waco, Texas.

“I think it went in the basket from the bottom,” Baylor coach Dave Bliss said.

All that mattered was that it went in.

“The first one, it was scary. It hit every part of the rim,” said Sayman, a 76-percent free-throw shooter. “It’s something you practice over and over. Making that one gives confidence in the second one.”

Missouri (17-7, 6-4) still had one more chance after that. And the Tigers had the ball in the hands of Kareem Rush, who had made a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:37 left after they had come back from a 10-point deficit.

Rush drove the lane after a timeout but couldn’t make the final shot in traffic.

“We got the ball in our best player’s hands. That’s a tough play to lose on,” said Missouri coach Quinn Snyder.

It was the first Baylor win over a Top 25 team in the regular season since an 85-77 shocker over Kansas last Feb. 12. They had lost their first three against ranked teams this season.

“I treasure this more than the Kansas win,” Wendell Greenleaf said. “It took a lot of courage to stay together.”

Rush scored 29 points, including 11 in a 20-6 run that gave Missouri its first lead since just after halftime. The last of Rush’s seven three-pointers put Missouri ahead 78-76 with 1:37 left.

John Lucas made a three-pointer with 39 seconds to put Baylor back ahead, before Arthur Johnson scored inside for Missouri for an 80-79 lead. Sayman was then fouled by Rush as he drove inside.

Lucas and Greenleaf both had 19 points for Baylor, while R.T. Guinn had 14. Lucas and Guinn each had three of the 11 three-pointers by Baylor, which leads the Big 12 with more than nine a game.

Clarence Gilbert added 18 points for Missouri, Johnson had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Rush made 7-of-13 three-pointers and the Tigers made 13-of-26 from long range.

MU, which dropped into fourth place in the Big 12, was playing the first of four road games in a five-game stretch.

No. 4 Oklahoma 68, Texas A&M 64

College Station, Texas Hollis Price, Oklahoma’s leading scorer, was being hounded by Texas A&M, so Aaron McGhee knew the Sooners needed a big game from someone else. He provided it, scoring 21 points in OU’s victory.

“They were boxing Hollis, so other guys had to step up and score,” McGhee, who also had 10 rebounds. “That’s what I tried to do.”

The Sooners (19-3, 8-2 Big 12) took a 64-55 lead with 2:30 to play on a jumper by McGhee, what turned out to be Oklahoma’s final field goal.

Texas A&M (9-15, 3-7) made three free throws and Larry Scott hit a three-pointer with less than a minute left to make it 64-61. Oklahoma made three free throws, but Bradley Jackson pulled the Aggies within 67-64 with a three-point play.

Price, who was held to 12 points, made one of two foul shots with 9.3 seconds remaining and Oklahoma held on for its 16th victory over Texas A&M in 17 meetings.

A&M made only 17 of 28 foul shots, while OU was 19-for-23.

Nick Anderson led the Aggies with 19 points and Bernard King had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Texas 104, Colorado 95

Austin, Texas T.J. Ford scored 22 points and dished out 12 assists as Texas rolled over Colorado. Ford was 6-of-8 shooting from the floor and 10-of-10 from the foul line for Texas (16-7, 7-3 Big 12). Royal Ivey and James Thomas each scored 18 points and Thomas had a game-high 11 rebounds in the Longhorns’ highest-scoring game of the season.

D.J. Harrison and Michel Morandais each scored 22 to lead Colorado (13-8, 4-6), which remained winless on the road in the Big 12 this season.

Nebraska 99, K-State 82

Lincoln, Neb. Jake Muhleisen scored a career high 21 to lead Nebraska to its highest point total this season.

Nebraska (11-10, 4-6 Big 12) used a 12-0 run late in the half to take a 39-29 lead on Cary Cochran’ three-pointer with 4:55 remaining.

Kansas State (9-12, 3-7) made two more field goals than Nebraska and two more three-pointers, but the Huskers hit 35-of-42 from the free-throw line compared to 12-of-17 for the Wildcats.

Cochran and Brian Conklin both scored 15 points for Nebraska. Phineas Atchison had 21 to lead the Wildcats.