Baylor holds off Texas Tech for wild OT win
WACO, Texas (AP) MaCio Teague hit a 3-pointer after stepping back behind the line and just beating the shot clock with 1:13 left in overtime and No. 4 Baylor held on for a 71-68 win over Texas Tech on Monday night.
Teague's shot put the Bears up 69-65, though Kyler Edwards then hit a 3 for Texas Tech. Short-handed Baylor (26-3, 15-2 Big 12) sealed the game with Jared Butler's steal and his two free throws with 11 seconds remaining.
Butler came away with the ball in the lane when Chris Clarke tried to make a pass inside over the Baylor guard, who was quickly fouled. Davide Moretti took a wild 3-pointer that wasn't close for Texas Tech (18-12, 9-8).
Devonte Bandoo had 18 points and Butler 17 for the Bears, who had lost two of their previous three games after a Big 12-record 23-game winning streak that had knocked them out of the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll. Teague had 14 points, and Freddie Gillespie had 10 rebounds.
Jahmi'us Ramsey and Kevin McCullar each had 13 points for Texas Tech (18-12, 9-8), while Moretti had 11. Ramsey made 3-pointers on each of his first three shots early in the game, and had only four more points after that.
McCullar made a 3-pointer from the right corner to put Tech up 60-57 with 1:56 left in regulation, but Baylor quickly got even when Bandoo made a 3 with 1:40 left. But both teams had two turnovers without scoring again until overtime.
Moretti had a bad pass with just under a minute left, with Gillespie coming away with the steal. But Baylor gave it right when Bandoo threw a cross-court pass that went out-of-bounds even though it looked like the ball may have deflected off Moretti's outstretched fingers - the Red Raiders had the ball after an extended replay review.
Texas Tech got the ball with 36 seconds left in regulation and was deliberate with its possession, which ended with Edwards losing the ball inside with Butler guarding him. But Baylor missed the chance for a final-shot victory when Devonte Mitchell lost control of the ball on a drive and traveled with a second left.
Baylor was without starter Mark Vital, their defensive specialist, and Tristan Clark, both because of knee issues. Vital missed initially hurt last week against Kansas State, and then managed to play 21 minutes in Saturday's loss at TCU. Vital missed the second half of last season after knee surgery, and this was his seventh game he has missed throughout this season.
BIG PICTURE
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders, last year's Big 12 co-champion and national runner-up, are 0-25 all-time on the road against top-five AP teams. They had 20 turnovers, including the miscues at the end of regulation and in overtime, while losing their third game in a row.
Baylor: The Bears still have a chance for their first Big 12 title if Kansas loses a game this week, they are also still in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT
Texas Tech closes the regular season Saturday at home against No. 1 Kansas.
Baylor travels to West Virginia to close out its season Saturday.
---
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25