No. 10 Longhorns Stave Off No. 11 Baylor Behind 21 from Sir'Jabari Rice
The Texas Longhorns can hardly call their long-standing history with the Baylor Bears a rivalry based on recent results. Entering Monday's Big 12 matchup between the two teams, Baylor had won six straight in the all-time series.
But maybe history is rewriting itself.
The No. 10 Longhorns went back-and-forth in the second half with the No. 11 Bears, but never surrendered their slim lead en route to a 76-71 win to snap the six-game losing streak against Baylor.
Texas never led by more than nine all game, but used timely 3-point shooting and consistent answers to Baylor's offense to secure a major ranked win in conference play.
The Longhorns were led by a big shooting effort off the bench from Sir'Jabari Rice, who led all scorers with 21 points. Timmy Allen added 18 points and six rebounds while Tyrese Hunter had a much-needed bounce-back performance with 13 points.
Texas guard Marcus Carr only had five points, but it was his step-back jumper with 31 seconds remaining that essentially iced the game.
Baylor's elite backcourt did what its done all season, as LJ Cryer (19 points), Adam Flagler (11 points) and Keyonte George (17 points) led the way while Jalen Bridges added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Texas got a major first-half effort from Allen, who had 12 points in the first 20 minutes as the Longhorns led 38-36 headed into halftime. But a late burst from George helped make it a one-score game before the second half.
And once the Horns took that trip out of the locker room, Rice lit it up, as 15 of his 21 points came in the second half. He hit all four of his triples in the final act and two in the final five minutes to give the Longhorns the edge they needed.
The Longhorns will now continue the Big 12 gauntlet with a visit to Manhattan to face the No. 7 Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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