Field Level Media
Jan 21, 2019
Senior point guard Makai Mason scored a season-high 29 points to lead Baylor to an 85-73 win over the West Virginia on Monday night in Morgantown, W.Va.
Mason has scored in double figures in 10 straight games, a career-best streak. Due to injury, he missed all one but one game the past two years at Yale, and he joined Baylor this season as a graduate transfer.
The Bears (12-6, 4-2 Big 12) won their third consecutive game, including an upset over then-eighth-ranked Texas Tech on Saturday.
Baylor, which had lost six of its past seven games against West Virginia, also got 18 points Mario Kegler, a Mississippi State transfer. Baylor reserve guard Devonte Bandoo, a junior-college transfer, added 13 points.
West Virginia (9-10, 1-6) lost for the sixth time in seven games. The Mountaineers, coming off an upset win over then-seventh-ranked Kansas on Saturday, cut Baylor's large lead to single digits several times late in the game.
The Mountaineers were without leading scorer Sagabe Konate, who is sidelined due to a knee injury. West Virginia turned to junior guard James Bolden, who came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points before fouling out with 2:44 left in the game.
Brandon Knapper, also a reserve, added 15 points for West Virginia.
The Bears are also missing a top forward, as sophomore Tristan Clark recently had season-ending knee surgery.
Other than a 1-0 deficit in the game's opening minute, Baylor led the entire first half, taking a 46-31 lead into intermission.
Baylor shot 51.4 percent in the first half, including 37.5 percent on 3-point attempts (6 of 16). The Bears had a 25-17 edge on rebounds and would have led by more had they not shot so poorly at the foul line (4 of 14).
West Virginia cut its second-half deficit to 59-47 with a 9-0 run capped by a Kanpper layup with 12:14 left, forcing a Baylor timeout. From there, West Virginia got as close as eight points, but Baylor hung on for the win despite committing 16 second-half turnovers.
Baylor finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor and 61.3 percent from the foul line (19 of 31). West Virginia shot just 38.7 percent from the floor, including 23.5 percent on 3-point tries (4 of 17). The Mountaineers hit 21 of 34 free throws, 61.8 percent.
--Field Level Media