AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Now that Johnathan Motley helped destroy Texas again, the Baylor junior is looking forward to a more historic challenge.
Motley had 17 points and 17 rebounds, helping No. 11 Baylor defeat Texas 75-64 Saturday to finish the regular season.
Now Motley wants to win the Big 12 Tournament next week in Kansas City.
“No Baylor team has cut down the nets,” Motley said. “That’s our goal.”
The 6-foot-10 Motley had an even bigger game when Baylor defeated Texas 74-64 on Jan. 17 in Waco - career bests of 32 points and 20 rebounds along with three blocks.
Jake Lindsey added 16 points on Saturday as Baylor (25-6, 12-6) matched school records for total victories and Big 12 wins. King McClure scored 12 points.
Jarrett Allen, a 6-11 freshman, had 20 points and nine rebounds for Texas (10-21, 4-14), which has lost seven straight games.
“This is really, really hard,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “Now we have to figure out how to fix it (by next season). I’m really confident that we are going to be able to take a big step.”
Shaq Cleare added 14 points and nine rebounds and Andrew Jones had 12 points and seven assists for the Longhorns.
Texas trailed by 16 points with 2 minutes left in the first half, but the Longhorns had sliced the deficit to five less than 3 minutes into the second half on a basket by Allen inside.
The Longhorns maneuvered no closer than that, and Baylor increased its lead to 15 with a 3-pointer by Lindsey with 5:39 left.
Baylor converted 9 of 20 3-point attempts. Wendell Mitchell, a reserve guard who had made six 3-pointers all season in 24 attempts, hit three in the first half against Texas. Lindsey converted both of his attempts in the game and 6 of 7 shots overall.
“Nine for 20, you’ll take that most days,” Lindsey said.
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: The Bears once had a long string of futility against Texas, losing 24 straight games between 1999-2009. But Baylor is 13-7 against Texas since snapping the losing streak at the 2009 Big 12 Tournament.
Texas: The Longhorns finished the regular season with their worst Big 12 record since the conference began competition in 1996-97. They were 6-10 in 1997-98. Texas finished 0-11 in true road games this season, failing to win one for the first time since 1983. The Longhorns are 0-3 in neutral site games with another chance next week at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. The last time they failed to win on the road or at a neutral site was in 1909, when they finished 6-3 and played all nine games at home.
POUNDING THE BOARDS
Baylor, which ranks sixth nationally in rebounding margin with plus-8.6, had another impressive game Saturday. The Bears outrebounded Texas 44-28. Baylor collected 19 offensive rebounds, including eight by Motley.
“Motley plays with a tremendous motor,” Smart said.
POINT GUARD OUT AGAIN
Starting point guard Manu Lecomte - Baylor’s second-leading scorer - missed his second straight game while recovering from a sprained ankle. Coach Scott Drew hopes to have Lecomte back during the Big 12 Tournament next week.
“He’s close,” Drew said.
ALLEN: NEAR FUTURE UNDETERMINED
Texas’ Allen, regarded as a potential NBA first-round draft pick, said he has yet to make a decision about whether he will leave school after one season. Allen averages 16 points and nearly 10 rebounds in Big 12 games.
“I’m going to have to talk to my family about it,” Allen said.
UP NEXT
Baylor is at the Big 12 Tournament beginning Thursday in Kansas City. The Bears, seeded No. 3, have a first-round bye and then meet No. 6 Kansas State.
Texas begins the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday. The Longhorns, seeded No. 10, do not have a first-round bye. They face No. 7 Texas Tech.
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