Jameer Nelson Jr. scores 30 with go-ahead shot in 3rd OT as TCU beats No. 15 Baylor 105-102
WACO, Texas (AP) — Jameer Nelson Jr. grew up playing baseball as the son of an NBA All-Star guard.
Some folks might notice the basketball side after his prominent role in another Big 12 thriller.
Nelson scored a season-high 30 points, including the go-ahead shot with 10 seconds left in the third overtime, and TCU rallied for a 105-102 victory over No. 15 Baylor on Saturday.
Baylor freshman Ja'Kobe Walker hit a tying 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left in the first overtime, but the Bears lost for the first time in four games at brand new Foster Pavilion. Baylor had a 10-point lead in the second half and a four-point edge in the third OT.
It was a third consecutive loss for the Bears (14-5, 3-3 Big 12), who couldn't hold late leads in road losses at Kansas State, also in overtime, and Texas.
“I felt like it could have went anyone’s way in any of those overtimes, honestly,” said Nelson, whose dad Jameer Nelson spent most of his 14-year career in Orlando. “From what I learned, that’s the Big 12.”
Freshman Yves Missi scored a season-high 25 points, and RayJ Dennis had 24 points and 10 assists in the first three-OT game for the Bears since a 116-111 victory in five overtimes at Texas A&M on Jan. 23, 2008.
Emanuel Miller scored 21 points and Micah Peavy added 18 for TCU (15-5, 4-3) in the program's first game to go this long since a 104-96 loss in three OTs at West Virginia on Feb. 26, 2019.
Baylor had a 100-97 lead when Miller scored inside after a steal by Trevian Tennyson, and Nelson put TCU in front with free throws after Dennis missed a 3.
After Dennis scored for a 102-101 Baylor lead, Nelson rebounded his own miss for the go-ahead bucket at the rim with 10 seconds to go, silencing the fourth sellout crowd in the cozy 7,500-seat arena on the Brazos River. Ernest Udeh Jr. blocked Dennis' shot attempt at the other end.
The noise and chaos reminded Miller of TCU's 85-80 overtime loss to Arizona in the second round of the NCAA Tournament two years ago, when the Frogs were trying to knock off the top-seeded Wildcats.
“It felt like a March Madness game,” Miller said. “Every single possession, you hear the intensity from the fans. You could see the sweat from the refs. You could see the emotion pouring on that court. It’s a triple-overtime game in January. That’s huge. January. It’s not even March yet.”
Walter’s tying 3 after a pump fake was his second, the other giving Baylor a 3-0 lead in the first minute. The freshman missed five 3s in between, with two more misses from inside the arc.
The Bears led by 10 midway through the second half, and the Horned Frogs were up five with 1:12 to go in the first overtime.
TCU got even in regulation on Chuck O’Bannon Jr.’s 3-pointer, the first of three ties in the final 2:49 of regulation. Another 3 from O’Bannon for 76-all was the last bucket of regulation.
Last season, O’Bannon hit the game winner with four seconds remaining in an 88-87 TCU victory at the Ferrell Center, where the Bears played their final game Dec. 22.
After the OT loss to the Wildcats, the Bears were beaten by the Longhorns 75-73 when Tyrese Hunter went the length of the floor for a buzzer-beating layup.
“Well, three buzzer-beaters in a row really puts you in a great mood,” coach Scott Drew said. “So many close plays that lead to winning or losing. I know it just takes a spark to start a fire, and we’re at that point where we need to get a win and get some confidence back.”
Walter had a shot at the tying 3 in the first overtime because Miller twice missed one of two free throws in the final 22 seconds.
The second miss came after Missi couldn't convert a point-blank shot that would have pulled Baylor even in the final 10 seconds of the first overtime.
Nelson had his sixth 30-point game. The first five were the previous two seasons at Delaware, including a career-high 39. He also spent two seasons at George Washington.
“Somebody scores on him, he wants to score on the next play right away,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “That’s kind of the things we’re working through. He is aggressive. He is competitive. At times you’ve got to control that a little bit.”
The Horned Frogs needed all of Nelson's responses for their fourth win this season after trailing by double digits.
BIG PICTURE
TCU: After turnovers caused the the Frogs trouble in a home loss to Iowa State, they protected the ball fairly well against the Bears. But TCU couldn’t create much of an advantage out of it. The Frogs had 13 turnovers to 17 for Baylor, with a 16-11 edge in points off turnovers.
Baylor: The Bears are one of the best teams in the country from 3-point range but couldn't get that part of their game going. Walter missed a 3 in the final minute of the second OT, and Dennis was off the mark at the buzzer in that extra period with a foot on the arc. Baylor finished 5 of 22 from 3-point range.
UP NEXT
TCU: No. 20 Texas Tech at home Tuesday.
Baylor: At UCF on Wednesday.
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