Longhorns Lose Dylan Disu to Injury, Fall to No. 11 Baylor in Waco
The Texas Longhorns beat the Baylor Bears at the buzzer in their first matchup of the season in mid-January.
Monday's meeting marked the final scheduled matchup for the foreseeable future between the two Big 12 rivals, and it looked like the Longhorns were due for more jubilation.
Instead, a disappointing loss was topped off with some scary injury concern.
Max Abmas erupted for a season-high 33 points, but the Longhorns lost star forward Dylan Disu to a second-half knee injury, as No. 11 Baylor erased a 14-point deficit in a 93-85 loss for Texas.
© Chris Jones, USA TODAY
Baylor forward Jalen Bridges scored a career-high 32 points on 6 of 7 from deep and pulled down nine rebounds. Guards Ja'Kobe Walter (15 points) and RayJ Dennis (16 points, eight assists) both reached double figures while forward Josh Ojianwuna had 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Longhorns guard Tyrese Hunter (12 points) and forward Kadin Shedrick both reached double figures while guard Ithiel Horton tallied eight points and nine rebounds.
Texas came out of the gates on fire. Hunter hit two quick triples and Abmas eventually caught fire as the Longhorns jumped out to a surprising 30-16 lead.
But despite a start that was better than Terry could've asked for, the Bears weren't exactly cold from the field amid the early deficit. Bridges started 4 for 4 from 3-point range, as Baylor kept the Texas lead to single digits at 48-40 headed into halftime.
The Longhorns went 7 of 13 from deep in the first half and won the turnover battle 7-2, but still led by just eight.
There was a scary moment midway through the second half when Disu had to be helped off the court and back to the locker room without putting any weight on his left leg. Meanwhile, Baylor was in the middle of an 11-0 run and tied the game at 68-68 with eight minutes to play. A few minutes later, the Bears took their first lead of the game at 71-70 with 6:50 to play.
Baylor built its lead up to as many as eight before eventually salting the game away. The Longhorns had a near 10-minute stretch without a field goal, which ultimately crushed any chance of rallying in the final frame after the Disu injury.
Texas will close out the regular season at home on Saturday against Oklahoma.
