{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Baylor 75, Iowa State 68
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2022
Where: Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas
Officials: # Rick Crawford, # Jeb Hartness, # Amy Bonner
Attendance: 9385

James Akinjo scored 20 points and had two critical baskets in the final four minutes as No. 3 Baylor survived a torrid Iowa State comeback to post a 75-68 home win on Saturday at Waco, Texas.

The victory assured the Bears (26-5, 14-4 Big 12) a share of the conference title with Kansas, which defeated Texas in overtime earlier Saturday. The Jayhawks garnered the top seed in the Big 12 Conference tournament since they split games against third-place finisher Texas Tech while Baylor lost twice to the Red Raiders.

The Bears led by as many as 25 points with just under eight minutes to play in the first half before Iowa State rallied to within 10 at halftime. The Cyclones continued to reel in Baylor and led twice deep into the second half, the latest at 64-62 with 3:52 to play.

That's when the Bears found their footing, with Akinjo hitting a 3-pointer and a second-chance layup and Kendall Brown canning a jumper from the elbow to put Baylor up by five points.

Brown added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears, with Adam Flagler tallying 13 and Jeremy Sochan hitting for 12 points. Baylor will play seventh-seeded Oklahoma in the Big 12 quarterfinals on Thursday.

Gabe Kalscheur led the Cyclones with 18 points while Robert Jones had 12 and Izaiah Brockington added 11. Iowa State (20-11, 7-11) has lost two straight.

The Bears reeled off a 22-0 run, holding Iowa State scoreless for more than eight minutes while building a 29-4 lead. But the Cyclones rallied, fashioning a 12-1 run of their own over the final 3:13 of the half to pull within 39-29 at the break. Iowa State held the Bears without a field goal the last 3:38.

Brown led all scorers with 11 points in the half while Jones paced Iowa State with 10 points.

Kalscheur and Akinjo waged their own personal duel early in the second half, scoring their team's first nine and seven points, respectively, as Iowa State clawed back to within 46-38 with 16:25 to play.

The Cyclones eventually tied the game and took a 60-58 lead on a layup by Aljaz Kunc with 7:51 left to set the stage for the furious finish.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Iowa State   Baylor
Gabe Kalscheur 18 Scoring James Akinjo 20
Tyrese Hunter 13 Assists James Akinjo 6
Izaiah Brockington 6 Rebounds Kendall Brown 10
George Conditt IV 3 Free Throws Made Adam Flagler 5
Izaiah Brockington 1 Steals James Akinjo 2
N/A Blocks Matthew Mayer 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Iowa State 68 47.5 7-25 5-7 22 27 0 5 10
Baylor 75 47.3 8-25 15-26 14 35 4 4 11