The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor
Texas falls to No. 13 Baylor, 77-72
02.20.2012 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2012
Final Stats | | Box Score 
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Whether rebounding or scoring - or both - Quincy Acy put the No. 13 Baylor Bears on his strong shoulders and carried them to a big victory.
Acy had 22 points and 16 rebounds and provided the key scoring punch down the stretch to push the Bears to a tough 77-72 win over Texas on Monday night.
Baylor rallied from a 12-point deficit early in the second half and Acy scored seven straight points to give the Bears a five-point lead with under 3 minutes to play. Johnathan Holmes made a 3-pointer to pull Texas within 71-70 before Pierre Jackson made six consecutive free throws to put the game away for Baylor (23-5, 10-5 Big 12).
J'Covan Brown, scored 18 to lead the Longhorns (17-11, 7-8), but had a critical turnover with 12 seconds left that prevented Texas from shooting for a tie.
Brady Heslip scored 12 for Baylor and helped spark the Bears' rally with three 3-pointers in the second half.
While Heslip started the rally, it was Acy who refused to let Baylor lose this one. His powerful moves in the post and tough rebounding took over the game while the Bears are still looking for standout forward Perry Jones III to shake off his scoring slump.
Baylor shot just 40 percent but Acy grabbed eight offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive and went 8 of 11 from the free throw line.
"The toughness and leadership he's brought our team is off the charts," Baylor coach Scott Drew said.
Jones scored 10 and gave Baylor its first lead of the second half at 56-55. Acy took over in the final five minutes giving the Bears at 65-63 lead with 4:45 to play.
Jackson put the game away at the free throw line, coolly swishing six straight shots down the stretch. Jackson was 12 of 12 from the line and Baylor was 24 of 29 as a team.
Texas still had a chance to get it to overtime or play for a win in the final seconds. After Jackson made two free throws to make it 73-70 with 28 seconds left, Brown dribbled into a double team on the perimeter, then fired a wild pass that was picked off by Baylor's A.J. Walton.
"They had a good trap on the ball. A.J. read it perfectly," Jackson said.
The loss comes at a tough time for the Longhorns who are still trying to boost their resume for the NCAA tournament. They have lost eight games by six points or less this season.
Texas had won four in a row before ur dropped a road defeat at Oklahoma State over the weekend. The Longhorns seemed to be catching Baylor at just the right time with their return home. Baylor had lost three of four.
But the Bears were also looking to break out of a late-season swoon.
"We had to come down here, really just dig deep and not give up," Acy said. "Just because we lost a couple of games doesn't mean the season's over," Acy said.
Texas shot 50 percent in the first half and led 36-26 at halftime. The Longhorns held Baylor to 28 percent shooting and just seven total field goals in the half.
Texas threatened to turn the game into a rout early in the second when Brown, the Big 12's leading scorer, made a quick catch-and-shoot 3-pointer. But the Bears hung around behind a 3-point shooting burst from Heslip, who made three in the first five minutes of the half, with the last cutting the lead to 46-39.
"You can't give up wide open 3s to a guy that's all he does," Texas coach Rick Barnes said.
That flurry kept the Bears close and they eventually caught up. A 3-pointer by Gary Franklin cut the Texas lead to 55-54 and Baylor took its first lead since early in the first half with 7 minutes left.
Acy scored seven in a row in that helped push the Bears to a 70-65 lead when he finished tough left-handed layup, drew a foul and made the free throws. Baylor had a chance for the basket because he had grabbed his 15th rebound of the night to help the Bears keep the ball.
Texas freshman guard Myck Kabongo called it a "devastating" loss. Senior forward Clint Chapman said he doesn't know what it means for the Longhorns' NCAA tournament hopes with three games left in the regular season.
"As far as any future endeavors, I haven't personally thought about it," Chapman said. "It just hurts. We've lost so many by a possession or two."
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas holds a 157-81 lead in its all-time series against Baylor. UT holds an 85-28 advantage all-time against Baylor in games played in Austin.
- Texas outscored Baylor off of the bench, 20-8 and in points in the paint, 30-16
- Texas outscored Baylor in second-chance points, 19-13 and outscored the Bears in points off turnovers, 16-11.
INDIVIDUAL
J'Covan Brown
- Tied his career high in three-point field goals made (six)
- Reached double figures in scoring (18 points) for the 26th game this season and the 59th game in his career
Clint Chapman
- Tied his career high in steals (two)
Myck Kabongo
- Reached double figures in scoring (12 points) for the 17th game this season
Julien Lewis
- Set a career high in assists (four)
Sheldon McClellan
- Reached double figures in scoring (13 points) for the 18th game this season
Alexis Wangmene
- Tied his career high in steals (two)
TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On the difference in tonight's game: It was the second half. I thought the first half our guys played with as much passion and energy and effort and focus as I've seen. But, we came out at halftime and didn't build up. We made decisions, even on the offensive side. We had a chance to put them in some serious foul trouble, but we settled for perimeter shots. One thing you have to do is tip your hat to (Baylor forward) Quincy Acy. He was a man among boys tonight.
On losing close games this season: We have had trouble listening, as opposed to hearing. We come out of timeouts and don't execute. We start the game and we don't understand the situations. We haven't yet realized that if there is a guy on the floor with three fouls that we need to go after him. But, I would say the biggest thing with this group is listening.
On comparing both halves: The difference in the game was our defense. We were terrific defensively and then we weren't there in the second half. We gave separation on a three-point shooter, and our ball screens were bad. Then, we would come down and turn the ball over. We have a great knack of turning the ball over at the wrong time. We need to understand the situation better...time, score, fouls...all of those type of things.
On the game-sealing turnover: If we would have called a timeout, and we drew up one play and they changed up defenses, then we would have had no time outs left and we would have been lost. We thought in the flow of the game that we could come down and have a play, and we didn't execute.
TEXAS PLAYER QUOTES
SENIOR FORWARD/CENTER Clint Chapman:
ON DEFENDING BAYLOR FORWARD QUINCY ACY: All the credit goes to him. He was playing hard. He really just outplayed us. There were two big plays, one where I came across and fouled him. He was able to get the ball up over the rim, and he put up three points instead of two. So, plays like that, all the credit goes to him for being able to finish that. We obviously have got to do a better on rotations and keep the ball out of his hands on offensive rebounds.
ON TONIGHT'S LOSS: It just hurts because we've already lost so many by a possession or two in games where we were down in the first half. Obviously I think we were too comfortable coming out of the locker room at halftime. Our intensity dropped off defensively. That's where they won the game. I thought we still fought, but we just didn't make the plays we needed to make in the last four-to-eight minutes to win the game. So, it hurts.
FRESHMAN GUARD Myck Kabongo
ON LOSING A CLOSE GAME: It's a tough loss. When we play in front of our fans and our fans come out to support us, it's tough when you let them down. They have jobs, everybody has something else they can be doing, but they come out to support us. So, it's a devastating loss for our school, for our fans and for the guys in our locker room. We work hard. We put all of our heart into it.
ON BAYLOR SWITCHING ITS DEFENSE FROM ZONE TO MAN-TO-MAN: It didn't cause any problems. I think we just didn't execute our plays. The first half we did a great job of executing. The second half we didn't execute. So that's our fault. We need to be able to play against a man-to-man defense and a zone [defense]. We have to execute our plays like we do in our walkthroughs.
ON PLAYING TIGHT GAMES AGAINST RANKED TEAMS BUT BEING UNABLE TO WIN THEM: It just shows you right there - we just have to finish the job. Nobody remembers the team that loses. It's all about winning. You can say we're close, but we have to win. We just have to know what we can do in those close-game situations and execute at the end of the games. Just have to learn how to finish. That's all.
JUNIOR GUARD J'Covan Brown:
ON THE LOSS: It hurts. I feel like I keep letting these guys down. But, I'm trying. I guess I'm just not figuring it out right now. It hurts right now.
ON BAYLOR'S STRONG SECOND HALF: Their offense had some easy looks at shots. And we weren't getting any easy looks. We weren't getting them as a unit. And it starts with me. I just have to clean it up and try to help these guys out. (We need to) win tough games like this.
BAYLOR POSTGAME QUOTES
FORWARD QUINCY ACY
On the difference in the second half: We played defense in the second half. It worked.
On grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds: Every day in practice, Coach (Drew) puts us through rebounding drills, and I make sure I go my hardest in every one. I know that is my calling on this team; setting the tone in the paint and being a tough rebounder. I found myself in good position and I never stopped working
On what was on the line tonight for Baylor: We had a tough home loss against K-State, and we really wanted to dig deep and not give up. (Just) because we lost a few games, that does not mean the season is over.
On what he saw from Texas tonight: I saw a lot of fight in them. They are a really good team lead by J'Covan (Brown). They are still learning but they are a great team. If they get in the tournament they will make a great run if they come together.
GUARD PIERRE JACKSON
On playing aggressively down the stretch, despite being in foul trouble: We just had to play smarter because we knew coming in that we would not get the calls. So, we had to execute and play smart.
On J'Covan Brown's late turnover: They had a good trap on the ball. A.J. (Walton) read it perfectly and he got the steal.
On the effect of changing to a three-guard lineup: We just thought to play smaller to keep their guards off the paint. We will take that over them getting in the paint and getting easy buckets.
GUARD BRADY HESLIP
On the impact of the win: it was a big win. It was a statement game for us coming off a home loss at home against K-State. We knew we needed to come in on Big Monday and make a statement.
BAYLOR QUOTES
HEAD COACH SCOTT DREW
Opening Statement: It is important to give credit where credit is due. Fans always want coaches and teams to win every year, but every coach in the league respects what a tremendous job Coach Barnes has done this year with such a young team. I think he has done a tremendous job, as well. Being in the league for nine years now, the state of Texas Basketball is what it is today because when Coach Barnes got here he really elevated Texas Basketball. He recruits in the state of Texas and showed recruits that they could stay in the state and be successful. I think that is why us, (Texas) A&M, and (Texas) Tech were able to follow.
Second thing is in the second half, we obviously went with three guards and man-to-man (defense) and that worked out for us. We took good care of the basketball and got good shots. We played a lot more aggressive on both ends of the court. First half, we had a lot of opportunities. There were shots that you would like to not miss and normally would not miss. But, when you shoot 28%, it is hard to be successful. Taking care of the ball was a big deal throughout the whole game. We rebounded good the whole game as well. From a coaching standpoint, players get a lot of credit because they really set the stage for the second half - what we were going to do and how we were going to fight.
On the difference in the second half: One thing is that, I always tell players if you are not making shots you can always guard, but when you make buckets, you seem to play better on both ends. That had a lot to do with it.
On Quincy Acy: Quincy is someone who has played hard all year long. From a coaching standpoint we are really proud. For Texas fans, Gary Johnson was similar last year, with the heart and how hard he played and the effort. Quincy, over the years has gotten better on the offensive end. He has expanded his game, but the toughness and leadership he has brought the team is awesome. He deserves a lot of the credit for the success of the team this year.
