WACO, Texas – Baylor men’s basketball earned the Holiday Hoops victory over Sacramento State 110-88 on Tuesday night at Foster Pavilion.
The contest between the Bears and Hornets marked the seventh consecutive game that the Green and Gold had four players in double digits. Tounde Yessoufou (27), Cameron Carr (25), Michael Rataj (18), Dan Skillings Jr. (12), Isaac Williams IV (11) and Obi Agbim (10) all earned double-digit points. The last time Baylor had six players with double figures was against Tarleton State earlier this season.
BU put up 60 points in the paint which was the most since the Bears earned 66 against John Brown in the 2023-24 season.
Yessoufou made a career-high with his 27 points and 11 made field goals, while Rataj earned his second double-double with a season-high of 18 points along with 10 rebounds. The Big 12 Starting Five honoree of Carr tied his career-bests in field goals made and attempts, going 10-for-16.
Skillings Jr. led the team in rebounds with a season high of 14, accomplishing his 500th career rebound and now holding 510 career rebounds. The Cincinnati transfer is also two points shy from his 1,000th career point.
The whopping 110 points is the most points made by Baylor since versus Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 7, 2022.
Will Kuykendall and Drew Perry both made their BU debuts with both of them earning their first collegiate points.
THE RUNDOWN
The Hornets scored the first basket however, Carr responded with a deep three. Sacramento State went on a 12-2 run to go into the first media timeout up 14-5. Carr then put up a jumper and drew a foul to earn one from the line. Followed by a turnover and reverse layup from Williams IV to make the score 14-10.
With 14 minutes left in the first half, Agbim scored the first points in a few minutes by draining a three pointer from the top of the key which was immediately answered by a three point from Sacramento State. BU went on a 7-0 run to close the gap but the Hornets answered with a layup to maintain the lead 22-20 with 11 minutes left in the half.
Yessoufou had a fastbreak dunk to make Foster Pavilion electric and tie the contest 22 a piece. Two fouls on Baylor resulted in four made free throws in a row by the Hornets to gain the lead again. With two points from Williams and a basket from beyond the arc from Agbim, the Bears cut the lead. Sacramento State earned three more points to keep the lead up 31-27 at 7:42.
After the media timeout, Baylor went on an 8-4 run to tie the game 35-35. The Hornets would earn one free throw before Yessoufou landed a jumper for Baylor to take the lead for the first time in the contest. Even though Sacramento State landed two three pointers, the green and gold collected two dunks from Carr and another jumper from Yessoufou.
In the final three minutes, the Bears went 7-9 in field goals while the Hornets went 4-4. Baylor went on a 6-0 run in the final 37 seconds to head into halftime up 52-47.
After the break, Baylor put up two jumpers while Sacramento State added two free throws and a field goal before the first media timeout to increase the Green and Gold’s lead to five. Yessoufou put up three field goals, one of them being a fastbreak dunk.
Carr added a dunk of his own followed by a layup from Rataj and another three pointer from Carr. Sacramento State earned six points in two minutes with Baylor holding a 72-60 lead at 12:35.
Halfway through the second half, the Bears put up nine unanswered points giving them a 20-point lead and forced the Hornets to use one of their timeouts to stop Baylor’s driving momentum.
With a little over five minutes left in the half, the Bears held a steady lead at 24 points after a deep offensive streak. With two and a half minutes left in the game, both Kuykendall and Perry scored their first career points on free throws followed up by another two points each by Kuykendall and Perry. Baylor earned the victory 110-88 against the Hornets.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears hit the road to face Memphis on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 3:30 p.m. CT on CBS at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.
