WACO, Texas (AP) — Keyonte George had 23 points, Adam Flagler scored 20 and big man Johnathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua made a couple of key 3-pointers as 14th-ranked Baylor held on to beat Oklahoma 82-72 on Wednesday night.
Flagler scored 14 points in the final 13:11 of the game, the first of those being a jumper that put Baylor back ahead to stay.
Not long after Flagler's go-ahead basket following Oklahoma's only lead of the second half, Tchamwa Tchatchoua hit his first 3-pointer. The 6-foot-8 forward known as “Everyday Jon” also made two 3s on Saturday in his first game since last Feb. 12, when he tore multiple ligaments in his left knee.
Langston Love added 19 points for Baylor (18-6, 7-4 Big 12), which has won eight of nine overall since losing its first three league games.
The Sooners (12-12, 2-9) lost their sixth consecutive conference game, the last three since a still-hard-to-explain 93-69 win over then-No. 2 Alabama in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. They were coming off a 93-61 loss at West Virginia last weekend.
Grant Sherfield had 15 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Sooners, and Milos Uzan added 11 points. Otega Oweh and Joe Bamisile both scored 10.
Oklahoma had its only lead past the opening minute of the game when Tanner Groves regathered the ball after being blocked by Tchamwa Tchatchoua and scored on a putback that made it 48-47 with 13:52 left. That capped a 10-2 run, when Joe Bamisile also had a putback of his own missed shot.
Baylor went back ahead to stay on the jumper by Flagler before Tchamwa Tchatchoua hit from 3 on the same possession that Jalen Bridges and Flagler missed from beyond the arc. Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Flagler made consecutive 3s late.
Bridges and Flagler both made 3s in the final 1:30 in Norman on Jan. 21, when the Bears won 62-60 over Oklahoma.
BIG PICTURE
Oklahoma had won 30 in a row against Baylor until 2009, but the Bears have won 19 of 30 since. That includes the last 11 regular-season matchups.
Baylor seems to be rediscovering its shooting touch. The Bears shot 46.6% (27 of 58) from the field with nine 3-pointers, after shooting a season-high 53.8% (35 of 65) with 10 3s on Saturday against Texas Tech. That followed four consecutive games at 37.1% or worse shooting.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma is home Saturday against No. 9 Kansas, which beat the Sooners 79-75 on Jan. 10.
Baylor plays Saturday at No. 17 TCU. The Horned Frogs overcame a 17-point deficit in Waco on Jan. 4 to beat the Bears 88-87.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll
