No. 9 Baylor unable to overcome Johnson’s 25 points in 75-65 loss at No. 14 Kansas State

After Saturday’s loss at Kansas, No. 9 Baylor fell 75-65 in its second straight game in the Sunflower State to No. 14 Kansas State on Tuesday in Manhattan, Kan.

Baylor guard Keyonte George drained six 3-pointers to highlight his 23-point performance. LJ Cryer scored 16 points and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Bears (20-8, 9-6 Big 12), who have lost two in a row after winning 10 of their previous 11 games.

Baylor’s Adam Flagler finished with four points on 1-for-13 shooting from the floor, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range. He entered the game averaging 16.0 points on the season and poured in 23 points in the previous encounter with Kansas State.

Keyontae Johnson made 11 of 17 shots from the floor for the Wildcats (21-7, 9-6 Big 12), who completed a season sweep of the Bears after losing each of the seven previous meetings. Kansas State recorded a 97-95 overtime victory over Baylor on Jan. 7 in Waco, Texas.

Markquis Nowell contributed 14 points and 10 assists for his sixth double-double of the season. Cam Carter collected 10 points and eight rebounds and Nae’Qwan Tomlin added eight points and eight rebounds.

Cryer’s fourth 3-pointer forged a 43-43 tie before Kansas State made six baskets on the interior as part of a 12-1 run. Carter capped the surge with an emphatic dunk in transition.

Flagler scored his first points of the game with a pair of free throws to halt the run, and he added a jumper to trim Kansas State’s lead to 57-48 with 7:15 to play. Baylor moved within nine following Tchamwa Tchatchoua’s jumper with 1:36 remaining in the second half, however Johnson made a layup and Nowell sank his free throws to seal the win.

Kansas State claimed a 23-13 lead after a Carter layup capped a 7-0 run. Baylor, however, countered with an 11-0 stretch, with George sinking a pair of shots from beyond the arc in that sequence.

Carter’s layup halted the surge for the Wildcats; however, Cryer made two 3-pointers and Tchamwa Tchatchoua also converted from beyond the arc to help the Bears secure a 34-31 lead at halftime.

–Field Level Media contributed to this story