Gabe Kalscheur, Iowa State too strong for No. 10 Baylor

Gabe Kalscheur made six 3-pointers while scoring 24 points as Iowa State defeated Baylor for the third straight time this season, prevailing 78-72 over the No. 10 Bears in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament on Thursday at Kansas City.

Jaren Holmes scored 17 points, and Tamin Lipsey recorded 13 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and five steals for the fifth-seeded Cyclones (19-12). Tre King added 10 points, and Iowa State used a 30-10 second-half run to dispatch the fourth-seeded Bears.

Jalen Bridges established career bests of 28 points and seven 3-pointers for Baylor (22-10). Adam Flagler added 14 points and three steals, Keyonte George scored 11 points before fouling out, and LJ Cryer had 10 for the Bears.

Iowa State will face either top-seeded Kansas or eighth-seeded West Virginia in Friday’s Big 12 semifinals.

The Cyclones defeated Baylor by 15 points in both regular-season meetings.

Bridges made three 3-pointers in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second half as Baylor extended a three-point halftime edge into a 50-42 lead.

The Cyclones then took over with their game-changing burst. It began by scoring 12 of the next 15 points, with Kalscheur tallying seven and Holmes hitting a 3-pointer to give the Cyclones a 54-53 edge with 11:41 remaining.

Bridges then hit his seventh trey to put Baylor back ahead with 10:06 left. The Cyclones answered with Kalscheur draining two 3-pointers as Iowa State scored 18-of-22 points to take a 72-60 lead with 2:44 remaining.

The Bears scored six of the game’s final seven points to avoid a third double-digit loss to Iowa State.

Baylor shot 45.1% from the field and made 14-of-29 from 3-point range. Bridges added three steals and was 10-of-11 from the field, his lone miss coming on a 3-pointer with 11:49 remaining.

The Cyclones made 49.2% of their attempts from the floor, including 8-of-31 from behind the arc. Iowa State held a dominating 44-17 rebounding advantage, including 21-5 on the offensive boards.

Flagler swished a 35-foot 3-pointer as time expired to give the Bears a 41-38 halftime lead.

Bridges displayed signs he was in line for a big outing when he scored 11 of Baylor’s first 19 points. He finished the half with 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting, including three treys.

–Field Level Media