By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
WACO, Texas – Like an Old West shootout, Texas guard Max Abmas and Baylor forward Jalen Bridges went head-to-head, point-for-point, neither wanting to blink.
 
But it was a 21-2 second-half run that helped the 11^th-ranked Bears (22-8, 11-6) rally from a 13-point second-half deficit and knock off the Longhorns, 93-85, Monday night before a sellout crowd of 7,500 for the final game in the debut season of the Foster Pavilion.
 
"I think we started praying that Max would miss a couple shots," Baylor coach Scott Drew said of Abmas, a grad transfer from Oral Roberts who scored a season-high 33 points in moving up to eighth on the NCAA men's scoring list with 3,073 career points.
 
"We tried three or four different types of defenses. We tweak each thing we do and then finally settled into where our zone was pretty good. And we did a good job on Max. But to be honest, they missed some shots, when in the beginning of the game they didn't miss any of them."
 
Texas (19-11, 8-9) hit its first six shots, including three from 3-point range, and took a 15-5 lead in the first four minutes. Abmas knocked down two 3-pointers and a layup in that early stretch and already had 17 points by halftime.
 
"As a coach, you go into a game and you're like, 'Don't let this guy get hot,''' Drew said. "(Abmas) is always going to score, but you don't want 33. You want 15 or 12 or 17. And he did a great job – five assists, one turnover, four steals. It was a complete game by him."
 
While Abmas was 7-of-9 overall and 3-of-5 from outside the arc in the first half, Bridges was a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range and scored 18 of his career-high 32 points, keeping the Bears within striking distance. Baylor trailed 48-40 at intermission after Toledo transfer RayJ Dennis had an and-one with 37 seconds left.
 
"They got out to a fast start on us, hitting everything," Dennis said of the Longhorns hitting 10 of their first 14 shots to go up 30-16 in the first 8 ½ minutes. "To be honest, JB (Bridges) is why we were in that game and had a chance to even come back and win. And he continued throughout the whole game. It was amazing to watch him."
 
Staying hot after the break, Abmas hit two of his first three shots and knocked down a 3-pointer that pushed the Longhorns' lead to 55-42, forcing Drew to call a timeout. The message was to "try to take Max away," Dennis said. "He was going crazy throughout the game, but try to limit his shots and limit his touches and force somebody else to beat us."
 
The Longhorns were still up by double digits seven minutes into the second half when Abmas hit a jumper that gave Texas an 11-point lead, 68-57. But they missed their next 11 shots from the field and lost big man Dylan Disu to a left knee sprain during Baylor's 21-2 run.
 
"I'm hoping Dylan Dissu is okay, so much respect for him," Drew said of Disu, who had just three points, three assists and one rebound in 10 minutes. "My brother recruited him to Vanderbilt, and he was a great player there. He's done a great job at Texas, so prayers for him."
 
Dennis and freshman Ja'Kobe Walter scored seven points apiece in the run, then Jayden Nunn hit a pair of free throws to give the Bears their first lead of the game, 71-70, with 6:50 left.
 
"Credit Texas for starting out and putting us on our heels," Drew said. "I thought our guys did a great job fighting back, the crowd was awesome, didn't let us get down. (Senior forward) Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua had the magic words that got us going the second half."
 
When Drew was asked about Everyday Jon's "magic words," he laughed and finally said, "I'd rather him tell you."
 
Walter made a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, then Dennis capped the run with a jumper that gave the Bears a 78-70 lead with 5:20 left. The Longhorns went almost 10 minutes without a field goal, Abmas finally ending the drought with a jumper that made it a five-point game, 80-75.
 
Baylor answered again, reeling off seven unanswered points and stretching the lead back to double digits, 87-75, on a pair of free throws by Walter. The Bears made 34-of-42 free throws and dominated the boards, 36-21.
 
One of five Baylor seniors honored before the game, along with Dennis, Tchamwa Tachatchoua, Caleb Lohner and Austin Sacks, Bridges said he was definitely emotional during the ceremony.
 
"Just the combination of, I know (RayJ) can attest to this," Bridges said, "every single day of our lives, all the hard work building up to this moment. Senior night shows that it was worth it, we didn't waste our time. It just makes it real. There's definitely a little emotion."
 
Dennis had 16 points and eight assists before fouling out with 47 seconds left, while Walter scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, when the Bears outscored the Longhorns, 53-47.
 
Sophomore forward Josh Ojianwuna made all four of his shots from the field and finished with 10 points and four rebounds. Kadin Shedrick and Tyrese Hunter had 14 and 12 points, respectively, for Texas (19-11, 8-9).
 
Baylor closes out the regular season with a matchup against Texas Tech (20-9, 9-7) at 5 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock. The Red Raiders, tied for fourth in the Big 12 standings and 1 ½ games behind Baylor, will play at Oklahoma State Tuesday night in Stillwater.

POSTGAME NOTES
 

• No. 11/11 Baylor is 22-8, 11-6 in the Big 12 Conference. Texas is 19-11, 8-9 in the Big 12.  
• The Bears went 15-2 at home in 2023-24 and were 8-2 at the Foster Pavilion in its debut season.  
• Baylor has won seven straight vs. Texas in Waco. 
• The Bears are 14-3 in the last 17 games vs. Texas. 
• The Bears are 22-10 vs. Texas since 2009. 
• Under Coach Scott Drew, Baylor trails the series 23-22.
• Texas leads the all-time series, 165-98, including a 23-22 mark in games played in Waco. 
• The Bears 93 points against the Horns are its most against Texas since scoring 100 in a 107-100 loss on Jan. 25, 1995.  
• Baylor made a season-high 34 free throws while taking a season-best 42 free throws. 
• Baylor's 42 free-throw attempts were the most since taking 43 vs. Mississippi Valley State in 2022-23.
• Baylor's 34 made free throws are its most since making 38 against Nebraska in the 2014 NCAA Tournament (3/21/14).
• Baylor is 408-172 since 2007-08, the first year Drew had a full allotment of scholarships. 

• Drew is 462-252 in his 22^nd season as a head coach and owns a 442-241 record at Baylor. In league play, Drew is 187-167 at BU and is 199-171 in his career. 
• The Bears are 126-32 over the last five seasons, the nation's second-best winning percentage among power-6 teams in that stretch.
• Baylor is 68-7 in home games over the last five seasons. 
• Baylor will return to action on Saturday, traveling to Lubbock, Texas, to face Texas Tech in the regular-season finale. The game will tip-off at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 and the Baylor Sports Media Network. 
• BU deployed the starting lineup of RayJ Dennis, Jayden Nunn, Ja'Kobe Walter, Jalen Bridges and Yves Missi for the 26^th time this season. The Bears are 18-8 when utilizing that lineup.
• Texas made its first six shots of the game, including three triples, and splashed six 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes to build a 30-16 lead midway through the first half. 
• The Bears used a 21-2 run that started with 12:54 to play in the game to rally and take their first lead at 6:50 in the second half. Texas went without a made field goal for 9:41 during the stretch. 
• Baylor ended the game on a 34-17 run over the final 12:54 in the game. 
• The Bears shot 73.7 percent (14-for-19) in the second half and was 21-for-27 at the free-throw line in the final period. BU outrebounded UT 19-7 in the final stanza. 
• Overall, Baylor held a 36-21 margin in rebounds in the win. 
• A total of 22 of the points scored (25.8 percent scored in the game) by Texas came off Baylor turnovers. 
• Bridges had a career-high 32 points, topping his previous career best of 28 vs. Iowa State in the 2023 Big 12 Tournament. 
• Bridges was 8-for-11 from the field, 6-of-7 from 3-point range and a career-best tying 10-of-13 from the free-throw line in 39 minutes, adding nine rebounds, two steals and a block. 
• Bridges has hit a 3-pointer in 14 consecutive games.  
• Bridges made his team-high 116^th straight start and his 64^th straight at Baylor. 
• Bridges has scored in double figures in 18 games on the year and in 36 in his Baylor career, with the Bears going 29-7 in those games.
• Dennis had 16 points and eight assists in 39 minutes.  
• Dennis now has 203 assists on the year, ranking fifth in Baylor single-season history, shy of fourth-place Lester Medford (2015-16; 222). 
• Dennis has scored in double-figure points in 22 of Baylor's 30 games on the year, with the Bears going 18-4 in those games.
• Nunn finished with eight points and five rebounds in 31 minutes.  
• Missi had seven points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes. 
• Walter finished with 15 points, adding three rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes.
• Walter was 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. 
• It marks the 22^nd game of the year for Walter in double figures, with BU going 16-6 in those games.
• Josh Ojianwuna had 10 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes, marking his fourth double-digit scoring effort of the year, and the sixth of his career (Bears are 6-0 in those games).