WACO, Texas — Adam Flagler tallied 14 points and made three of his team’s nine 3-pointers and No. 2 Baylor cruised to an 83-52 win over Stephen F. Austin at Ferrell Center in Waco on Wednesday night.
Bears stayed undefeated to improve to 4-0 on the season, while the Lumberjacks (3-1) suffered their first defeat of the new campaign.
Flagler, who shot 4 of 7 from the field, scored 11 of his 14 points before halftime as Baylor too control of the game early to secure the win in what was its home debut of the season.
Flagler led five Baylor players in double figures, as Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua added 13 points on 5 of 6 shots to go with six rebounds, while preaseason Big 12 player of the year Jared Butler finished with 12 points and seven assists and Davion Mitchell chipped in with 11 points and seven helpers for the Bears.
The other Baylor player scoring in double figures was Matthew Mayer, who had 10 points for the hosts which used an 11-2 run to close out the first half en route to take a 38-22 lead at the interval.
Cameron Johnson was the top scorer for for Stephen F. Austin with 11 points and Gavin Kensmil added 10 points and six rebounds. David Kachelries also scored 10 points for the Lumberjacks, who had their 18-game winning streak snapped.
Baylor was returning to court for the first time since beating then-No. 5 Illinois at the Jimmy V Classic in Indianapolis a week earlier.
The Bears were slated for a Top 2 showdown with No. 1 Gonzaga on Saturday, but that matchup was canceled about two hours before tipoff after it was revealed that a Bulldogs player was among two people in traveling party who tested positive COVID-19.
Baylor shot 49.0 percent from the field and made 25 shots from 20 assists.
Stephen F. Austin, which outrebounded the Bears 33-28 on the night, shot 40.9 percent on 18 of 44 shooting and made 1 of the 9 attempts from 3-point range.
The Lumberjacks, who stunned the Duke in overtime at Cameron Indoor Stadium last when the Blue Devils were ranked No. 1, had won 15 straight games before the 2019-20 campaign ended prematurely because of the coronavirus.
Both teams return to action on the weekend with Stephen F. Austin trailing to Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday and Baylor taking on No. 13 Texas at home in its Big 12 opener.
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