Tag Archives: Jo Lual-Acuil

Baylor beats Texas, 74-73, in double OT for fourth straight win

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Forward Terry Maston scored 26 points Monday night as the Baylor Bears beat the Texas Longhorns, 74-73, in double overtime.

In a hotly-contested Big 12 Conference game played at Austin, Texas guard Kerwin Roach II scored on a layup with 21 seconds left, lifting the Longhorns into a 73-72 lead.

But Baylor answered on the other end, with guard Manu Lecomte driving and missing a layup that 7-foot center Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr., followed with a dunk for the game-winning points.

With the win, the Bears improved to 16-10 and 6-7 in the Big 12 to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive.

The Longhorns, alternately, fell to 15-11 and 5-8 after a performance regarded as damaging to their NCAA chances.

Baylor built an eight-point lead with four minutes left in regulation and couldn’t hold it.

With 12 seconds left, Matt Coleman knocked down two free throws to cap a UT rally and tie the game, 56-56.

Baylor, on the last possession, passed it to forward Nuni Omot, who missed a wide-open, off-balance three.

Lual-Acuil’s follow shot from close range bounced off the rim at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.

In the first OT, Maston produced two quick baskets and hit two free throws in the opening minutes.

A jumper by Lecomte gave the Bears a 64-60 lead with 45 seconds left.

But once again, Texas didn’t flinch.

The Longhorns rallied to tie on two free throws each by Coleman and Roach.

When Lecomte missed a long three-pointer with two seconds left, the game moved into the second OT tied, 64-64.

Quotable

Baylor forward Terry Maston said the Bears are “just clicking right now on offense and defense.”

“Our zone has been really tough and Manu (Lecomte) is really leading us,” Maston said in comments posted on the UT website. “He’s hitting big shots and Jo (Lual-Acuil Jr.) is getting big rebounds. Me, Nuni (Omot) and Mark (Vital), I mean everybody, is just really playing well.”

As Texas players held a post-game meeting in the dressing room, Longhorns coach Shaka Smart described the mood as angry.

“They’re really, really upset and some of those guys are really angry, because it was a game that they really put their egos aside and really came together in terms of attacking and hanging in there together,” Smart said. “But obviously, we came up one stop short or one basket short depending on how you’re looking at it. The guys are really upset.”

Texas notes

The Longhorns have lost three straight and four of their last five. Four of their losses in conference have come by three points or less.

Texas freshman center Mo Bamba produced 16 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks. He hit 7 of 17 from the field.

Dylan Osetkowski, Coleman and Roach all scored 15 for the Longhorns, who shot poorly as a team at 36.1 percent.

Baylor notes

Baylor’s Terry Maston, a senior from Desoto, is the nephew of former Texas Tech star Tony Battie.

Bears guard Jake Lindsey is the son of Dennis Lindsey, the general manager of the Utah Jazz. Dennis Lindsey worked as assistant general manager of the Spurs from 2007-12.

Lecomte finished with 16 points and 7 assists. He struggled shooting the ball, hitting only 5 of 15.

Lual-Acuil had a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards.

Baylor swept two games from Texas this season, both in grind-it-out fashion. The Bears won 69-60 in Waco on Jan. 6.

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Baylor’s Lual-Acuil scores 18 in front of his proud parents

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The video from Baylor athletics says it all.

Senior center Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr., running ahead of the competition on the fast break, fielding a pass and dunking.

Lual-Acuil punctuated a big day in his college basketball career with 18 points, as the 21st-ranked Bears ran away with a 99-68 victory Thursday night over the Texas Southern Tigers.

What was so big about a game in December? Well, for starters, his parents traveled from Africa to Waco to see him play.

According to ESPN, his parents made the trip to see their son play and to attend his graduation, which is scheduled Saturday.

For more on Lual-Acuil’s amazing story, here is an article authored by John Werner of the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Published in January last season, it’s a fascinating chronicle of Lual-Acuil’s journey from the Sudan, to Uganda, to Australia, to Chanute, Kansas, and, finally, to Waco.

Lual-Acuil is listed on the roster at 7-feet and 225 pounds.

After sitting out the 2015-16 season with a heart condition, the transfer from Neosho Community College (in Kansas) emerged last year as one of the top shot-blockers in the nation.

Lual-Acuil had 87 blocks in 35 games.

This year, his game is expanding. Both his scoring and rebounding numbers are up. Coming into the Texas Southern game, Lual-Acuil was averaging 13.9 points and 10.1 rebounds.

After blocking two shots against the Tigers, he has produced 14 rejections in 10 games for the Bears (8-2).

Baylor, in a push to prepare for the start of Big 12 play later this month, hosts Savannah State at home on Sunday.

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