NCAA News Wire

Baylor 76, Oklahoma State 70

Alan Draper profile picture
Sports Editor
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STILLWATER, Okla. — Baylor guard Gary Franklin came alive late at Oklahoma State on Saturday, scoring nine of his 11 points in the final 3:33, to spark the Bears’ 76-70 upset win over the No. 8-ranked Cowboys.

Franklin, who started for injured point guard Kenny Chery, fired in 3-pointers on three consecutive trips after the Cowboys had taken a 64-63 lead.

The Bears avoided their first six-game losing streak since 2009 and won on the road in the Big 12 for the first time this season, improving to 14-7 overall and 2-6 in the conference

OSU fell to 16-5 and 4-4.

Franklin, a senior, was 1-for-3 shooting from the floor before his late barrage. But with the Cowboys threatening to take a game in which they trailed much of the way, Franklin took the big shots down the stretch, and made them with each one contested.

Guard Brady Heslip led the Bears with 20 points, making six 3s.

Cowboys guard Markel Brown led all scorers with 24 points and forward Le’Bryan Nash added 19.

Baylor shot 47.8 percent from the arc, behind Heslip and Franklin, outshooting the Cowboys 11-3 on 3-pointers.

Baylor led 32-31 at the half, thanks to its bench.

The Cowboys did a good job on Bears big men Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson, limiting them to a combined three points. But reserve forward Rico Gathers had a game-high 12 points at the break, making 5 of 7 shots from the floor. Guard Ish Wainright and forward Taurean Prince each added three, leading an 18-0 Bears’ edge in bench scoring.

Baylor led by as much as six early, before Brown heated up from the perimeter, firing in two 3-pointers as part of his eight first-half points. Nash had a team-high 11 points for OSU, which led only briefly on two occasions.

NOTES: Baylor was without PG Kenny Chery, who missed the game with a foot injury. Chery was averaging 11.1 points and a team-best 5.1 assists per game. He was replaced in the starting lineup by senior Gary Franklin. … Along with the game importance, it was a big recruiting Saturday for OSU, with premium high school big man Myles Turner on an official visit. Turner, a 7-footer from Euless, Texas, is ranked as high as the No. 2 prospect in the nation. … Since being ranked in the top 10 and starting 12-1 in nonconference play, Baylor had lost six of seven in Big 12 play entering Saturday’s game.

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.

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