No. 10 Baylor uses big second half to beat Kansas State

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua scored 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting as No. 10 Baylor beat Kansas State 75-60 on Wednesday night.

James Akinjo added 15 points for the balanced Bears (20-4, 8-3 Big 12) and Adam Flagler had 10. They won their seventh straight over Kansas State and reached 20 wins for the 13th time in the last 15 years.

Before the current streak, Baylor had won 20 games only three times in 100 seasons.

Both teams were missing key contributors.

LJ Cryer, who leads the Bears in scoring at 13.9 points per game, missed his fourth straight game with a foot injury. Selton Miguel sat out his fourth in a row for the Wildcats with an ankle injury.

Kansas State (12-11, 4-7) relied almost completely on two players for offense. Nijel Pack led all scorers with 31 points, while Mark Smith had 17 points and eight rebounds.

K-State’s two biggest losses this season have come against the Bears, including a 74-49 defeat at Baylor on Jan. 25.

Baylor outscored the Wildcats 7-1 to start the second half. K-State’s chances were dimmed considerably when Markquis Nowell picked up two quick fouls and was sent to the bench with four at the 17:43 mark of the second half. The second-half surge eventually extended to 19-4 Baylor.

Baylor led 39-21 at halftime of the first game, but K-State played a much better first half Wednesday. The Wildcats led 20-13 before the teams went into halftime tied at 34. Baylor’s largest lead in the first half was two points.

Pack and Smith had 13 points each for the Wildcats. Baylor was led by Kendall Brown and Tchamwa Tchatchoua with eight points apiece.

Baylor held a 20-13 advantage on the boards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Baylor: The Bears continued their recent domination of Kansas State. Baylor has outscored K-State 430-305 (86-61 average) over the past five games.

Kansas State: The Wildcats keep stubbing their toes when they get into “bubble” consideration for the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT

Baylor hosts No. 20 Texas on Saturday.

Kansas State plays at Iowa State on Saturday afternoon in the first matchup of the season between the schools.

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