NCAA News Wire
Baylor 76, Oklahoma State 70
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
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.
