Chery's late jumper lifts No. 22 Baylor over No. 11 Iowa State
Kenny Chery got No. 22 Baylor started with a 3-pointer on the very first shot, part of a game-opening 16-1 spurt for the Bears.
After they fell behind late, Chery hit the game-winner against No. 11 Iowa State.
Chery, the senior point guard who struggled shooting for most of the game, made a jumper with 4.7 seconds left and the Bears won 74-73 after blowing a 14-point lead in the final 8 1/2 minutes.
"For him to knock down that last shot after not being as efficient from the field as he normally is, I thought that showed a lot of poise, character, guts," coach Scott Drew said. "And I know with our team, there's no one we'd rather have with the ball in his hands at the end of the game."
The Bears were up 11-1 after only 2 minutes by hitting their first four shots. Chery made a 3 and had another long jumper between consecutive 3s by Royce O'Neale, who had 15 points to lead the Bears (13-3, 2-2 Big 12).
Chery then missed 12 of his next 13 shots, and left the game for several minutes midway through the second half when he came down hard on his right shoulder after missing a layup. He was still face-down on the floor grimacing in pain while Iowa State got a layup at the other end by Bryce Dejean-Jones.
"I just felt my shoulder stretched out," said Chery, who finished with 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting. "My teammates kept me up, and I got up and I knew I had to finish this game."
Iowa State (12-3, 2-1) never led until Georges Niang made a jumper with 1:54 left put the Cyclones up 68-67.
Niang, the leading scorer for the Cyclones, had only one point before making a 3-pointer with 6:18 left. He also had a tying layup in the final minute, but missed a runner as time expired.
"The two stretches that got us were the start of the first half and the end of the first half," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Baylor led 16-1 lead while hitting four 3-pointers in the first 3:15 of the game, then ended the half with a 12-2 run after Iowa State had gotten within a bucket.
After Matt Thomas missed an open 3 for Iowa State, Rico Gathers had a strong inside basket to start Baylor's half-ending run. O'Neale then had a tip-in of a miss by Chery and had a 3-pointer for a 46-34 halftime lead.
Gathers had 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Johnathan Motley had 14 points.
Naz Long had 19 points for Iowa State, making all five of his 3-pointers. Dejean-Jones has 14 points and Monte Morris 11.
The Bears led 62-48 on a layup by Gathers with 8:40 left. Long then had back-to-back 3s and added another long-range basket in a 20-5 run that put Iowa State in front for the first time.
Lester Medford hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:10 left for Baylor, but Iowa State quickly got even on Niang's high bank shot.
Motley had a go-ahead putback on a miss by Chery before a 3 by Dejean-Jones put the Cyclones up 73-72 with 13 seconds left.
"After the initial start, I was proud of our guys and how they battled back," Hoiberg said. "Unfortunately, you look back at that start and how we got out of the gate. It's tough to fight back from that, but our guys did it."
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
After Motley made a strong move to score in traffic about 7 1/2 minutes into the game, play was stopped when officials charged Iowa State's Dustin Hogue with a technical foul after he kicked at Taurean Prince. Hogue quickly pleaded his case. There was then a lengthy review while officials looked at replay and discussed what happened. Hogue still had a foul, but officials then added a flagrant foul against Prince. Both teams got free throws.
TIP-INS
Iowa State: Was trying to win its first three road games of a season for the first time since 1987-88. ... The Cyclones trailed 16-1 before making their first basket, a 3-pointer by Long.
Baylor: 46 first-half points were the most by halftime this season, and the most given up in any half by Iowa State. ... The Bears had three double-figure scorers by halftime, O'Neale with 11 points, and Gathers and Chery with 10 each.
UP NEXT
Iowa State: is home Saturday night against No. 12 Kansas.
Baylor: plays Saturday at Kansas State.
