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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Baylor 63, Texas Tech 60
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 16, 2016
Where: United Supermarkets Arena, Lubbock, Texas
Officials: # Joe DeRosa, # Darron George, # Bret Smith
Attendance: 12827

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Baylor guard Lester Medford was having a pretty lousy day -- feeling under the weather with only six points and five assists to go with four turnovers and four fouls.

But then things got a whole lot sunnier as Medford stepped up and nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired, lifting No. 22 Baylor to a 63-60 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena.

"That's how we drew it up," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Lester wasn't feeling well coming into the game and I told him the best players always play their best when they're feeling sick. I thought he really competed."

Guard Al Freeman scored 14 points and forward Terry Maston added 12 for the Bears. Baylor forward Rico Gathers scored seven points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Baylor (14-3, 4-1 in the Big 12) won its fourth straight conference game, including victories on the road the last two Saturdays. That signals a big rebound for the Bears, who lost their conference-opener at Kansas, 102-74.

"We took some tough L's on the road," Freeman said. "We just came together and said, 'You know what? Our approach's got to change when we go on the road.'"

Drew said Baylor changed some routines on the road the last two weeks, but the main difference was a simple matter of effort.

"The biggest thing is we've come out and competed harder from the start," Drew said. "If we've gotten down, we haven't quit fighting. First couple of road trips we got in huge deficits, where now we're not getting down 20."

Baylor won the middle of the first half and pushed ahead by as many as 11 points in the first 20 minutes. But the Red Raiders (11-5, 1-4) hung tough and were there with a chance to win in the final minute.

Texas Tech tied the game 60-60 when guard Devaugntah Williams drove and found forward Zach Smith for an open jumper with 21 seconds left.

That set the stage for Medford, who held the ball for most of the final 11 seconds before taking the shot that sank the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech began the second half on a 10-2 run and took the lead when guard Devon Thomas went to the basket for a layup with 13:27 remaining.

"Once you score a couple of baskets you get energized," Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said.

But Baylor answered on its next trip down the floor, when Medford hit a jumper to put the Bears back in the lead.

Baylor continued to find the answers it needed down the stretch in the second half, never allowing the Red Raiders to lead by more than a point.

"We held our composure," Drew said. "We didn't panic and we didn't allow them to get a lead that we couldn't catch them."

Williams scored 16 points to lead Texas Tech and forward Aaron Ross pitched in 14.

Baylor forward Taurean Prince hit a 3-pointer and made a layup during a 10-0 run that gave Baylor early separation. A put-back by Maston capped the surge and put the Bears ahead 14-8 with 13:58 left in the first half.

The Bears' zone defense forced Texas Tech into 10 turnovers. The Bears turned those takeaways into 17 points.

Smith located the problem of Red Raiders center Norense Odiase trying to do too much in the post against Baylor's zone.

"Poor Norense, four turnovers in 13 minutes," Smith said. "We're trying to educate him: 'This is what people are seeing. That's why you’re getting double-teamed. They saw you turn it over three times in the last game.'"

Maston, who led Baylor with 10 points in the first 20 minutes, had a second-chance layup that put Baylor ahead 36-25 with 1:22 left before halftime.

But Williams scored 10 points in the half to help keep the Red Raiders close.

Texas Tech guard Keenan Evans went into the lane for a jumper as the first-half buzzer sounded to cut Baylor's lead to 36-29 at the break.

NOTES: Baylor sophomore F Terry Maston came into the game averaging 7.2 points, a number on the rise after he scored 17 vs. TCU and 13 against Iowa State in the Bears' last two games. ... Entering the game, Texas Tech's last win over a ranked opponent came on Jan. 24, 2015, when the Red Raiders defeated ninth-ranked Iowa State 78-73 in Lubbock. ... Baylor F Rico Gathers, averaging 13.3 points and 10.7 rebounds this season, is second in program history with 31 career double-doubles, three behind Brian Skinner. Gathers is already the Bears' all-time leading rebounder with 1,018 boards.
Top Game Performances
 
Baylor   Texas Tech
Al Freeman 14 Scoring Devaugntah Williams 16
Lester Medford 5 Assists Norense Odiase 3
Rico Gathers 13 Rebounds Toddrick Gotcher 7
Al Freeman 4 Free Throws Made Devaugntah Williams 4
Terry Maston 2 Steals Keenan Evans 2
Rico Gathers 1 Blocks Keenan Evans 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Baylor 63 50.0 5-11 8-15 10 26 1 7 13
Texas Tech 60 42.9 5-18 13-15 13 26 2 6 15