Oklahoma State Cowboys vs Baylor Bears Match Player Stats On Mar 04, 2021

Jared Butler finished with 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting and had five assists to help No. 3 Baylor hold off No. 17 Oklahoma State 81-70 on Thursday night in Waco, Texas.

Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham, projected as the top pick in the upcoming NBA draft, filled up the stat sheet again with 24 points (on 10-for-19 shooting), seven rebounds and four assists. However, it wasn't enough to counter the Bears' balanced offensive effort as they finished with four players scoring in double figures.

And things got worse for Cunningham when he hurt his left ankle while dribbling across midcourt with 42.8 seconds remaining in the game and had to be helped off by team trainers.

Oklahoma State (17-7, 10-7 Big 12) had its five-game winning streak, which included wins over three ranked opponents, snapped despite shooting 53.8 percent (28-for-52) from the field.

Baylor (20-1, 12-1), which clinched its first Big 12 regular-season title earlier this week with a win over West Virginia, showed grit down the stretch. The Bears held off Cowboys comeback attempts after the visitors pulled within four points on four different occasions late in the second half.

Kalib Boone finished with 12 points and four rebounds, but the Cowboys were beaten frequently on the glass as Baylor outrebounded them 32-25 and 12-7 on offensive boards.

With Oklahoma State trailing 64-53, two Boone layups sandwiched around a 3-pointer by Cunningham cut the deficit to four points. But the Bears answered with a layup by MaCio Teague and a trey by Butler to pull back ahead by nine.

Butler scored Baylor's first six points of the game on a pair of triples and shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.

Teague finished with 19 points, five assists and four rebounds while teammate Davion Mitchell added 12 points and seven assists.

Matthew Mayer totaled 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Bears.

Oklahoma State finishes the regular season with another game against a ranked opponent when it faces No. 6 West Virginia in Morgantown on Saturday. Baylor closes its regular season at home against No. 18 Texas Tech on Sunday.

--Field Level Media