Field Level Media
Nov 17, 2021
LJ Cryer scored 20 points and James Akinjo contributed 18 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and four steals as No. 9 Baylor dominated Central Arkansas 92-47 on Wednesday in Waco, Texas.
In an all-Bears matchup, the defending NCAA Tournament champions overmatched their foes from the Atlantic Sun Conference in every possible way. They placed four players in double-figure scoring with Kendall Brown (19 points) and Matthew Mayer (12) joining Cryer and Akinjo.
Baylor (3-0) forced 29 turnovers, recorded 21 steals and limited Central Arkansas to 31 percent shooting. The visitors missed 12 of their 14 3-point attempts, although Baylor wasn't much better at 5-of-21 from long distance.
Eddy Kayouloud scored 14 points and Darious Hall notched 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead Central Arkansas (0-3), which has lost its first three games by a combined 112 points.
Baylor erupted out of the gate by scoring 32 of the first 41 points, capped by Cryer's jumper that created a 23-point lead with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half. On the ensuing possession, Central Arkansas finally reached double figures in points on Vincent Reeves' layup.
Baylor went into halftime holding a 43-20 advantage. Central Arkansas shot only 28 percent in the first half and committed 17 turnovers. Baylor wasn't exactly at its best either, shooting 41.5 percent and missing eight of its nine 3-pointers, but it recorded 14 steals as part of its stellar defensive performance.
Brown had 11 points in the first half, while Cryer had 10.
As part of the second-half onslaught, Cryer knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and converted a fast-break bucket to push the lead to 55-24. Jeremy Sochan's jumper with 10:14 remaining lifted the advantage to 40 for the first time, 74-34.
The lead got as large as 46 on Akinjo's 3-pointer with 3:10 to play.
--Field Level Media