Motley scores 32 in Baylor’s win over Longhorns
WACO, Texas—Johnathan Motley really couldn’t explain that feeling he had when he kept scoring points and grabbing rebounds. Baylor’s big forward just knew he wanted to play better than his last couple of games.
“You don’t really remember what you do, you’re just kind of out there going through it,” Motley said after career highs of 32 points and 20 rebounds in No. 6 Baylor’s 74-64 victory over Texas on Tuesday night. “I can’t really tell you the moves I made. I just forgot. It just goes away.”
Coach Scott Drew then smiled and said he liked that attitude of focusing on the next play.
“It’s just a crazy rhythm you get as a basketball player,” Motley added. “You can’t really explain it.”
Nuni Omot, the junior college transfer playing in only his eighth game for Baylor (17-1, 5-1 Big 12), had a season-high 14 points. He scored seven in the half-ending 16-4 run that put the Bears ahead to stay.
Texas (7-11, 1-5) led by as many as eight points early, and was still up by five before Omot’s dunk with just over 5 minutes left in the first half. Al Freeman , who finished with 10 points, and Jake Lindsey followed with consecutive 3-pointers to put Baylor ahead for the first time.
Jarrett Allen had 17 points for the Longhorns, while Andrew Jones had 15. Shaquille Cleare scored 14 before his fifth foul.
About halfway through the second half, the 6-foot-10 Motley had a one-handed putback dunk , though he got a technical foul after an elbow into a defender following the play.
With about 5 minutes left, Motley rebounded his own miss and made a tough jumper over the defender.
“The thing that he keeps getting better with is his motor, and that’s how he got a lot of those rebounds,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said.
In Baylor’s two road games last week, Motley was 6-of-18 shooting for 15 points and 14 rebounds combined. He fouled out after playing only 19 minutes Saturday at Kansas State.
“I wasn’t too happy with myself,” Motley said. “And I tried to do everything I could to be better than I was.”
ARKANSAS RALLIES IN 2ND HALF, HOLDS OFF TEXAS A&M, 62-60
COLLEGE STATION, Texas— Arkansas has won all six of its games this season against opponents from the state of Texas, a nugget lost on Razorbacks guard Daryl Macon.
“I’m just happy to win,” Macon said, shrugging. “I don’t care what state they’re from.”
Macon was especially happy Tuesday night, after the Razorbacks climbed back to .500 in Southeastern Conference play following a 62-60 comeback victory at Texas A&M.
“We took steps backward in those games, and we felt like we were way behind,” Arkansas forward Moses Kingsley said of the Razorbacks’ 1-3 start in SEC play. “We have to catch up.”
A sterling example occurred Tuesday, when they caught up to the Aggies in a game the Razorbacks will remember for a long time, and one the A&M faithful would like to forget.
Macon scored 16 points and Kingsley followed with 12 as Arkansas overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half to nip the Aggies before a stunned home crowd.
Arkansas (14-4, 3-3 Southeastern) led 61-60 with 26 seconds remaining when the Razorbacks’ Jaylen Barford missed two free throws. On the second, A&M’s D.J. Hogg and Robert Williams became entangled in fighting for the rebound under the basket, and the ball rolled out of bounds on the Aggies.
Following the inbound pass, Macon dribbled the ball out of bounds in trying to escape a trap, and the Aggies (9-8, 1-5) had another chance. But Hogg’s long-range, off-balanced offering missed its mark by a long shot with seven seconds left, and Macon was fouled on the other end of the floor by Tyler Davis.
Macon made his first free throw and missed his second, and a runner from a few feet above the top of the key by A&M’s Admon Gilder bounced off the rim as time expired.
“That was a bad miss,” Macon said of his second free throw that would have given Arkansas a three-point lead. “I need to go and shoot a 1,000 of them tomorrow.”
Gilder led the Aggies with 16 points, and Davis followed with 14.
“We played like an immature, undisciplined team, and that’s my fault,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said of allowing Arkansas to climb back from a 48-36 deficit. “I have to do a better job getting them tougher and tighter with the ball.”