COLUMBIA, S.C. – Kenny Chery scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half and Baylor held off South Carolina's late charge for a 69-65 victory Tuesday.
The Bears were up 64-54 with 4:48 left and looked on their way to an easy win when the Gamecocks (1-1) rallied with an 11-3 run to cut it to 67-65 with 3 seconds left on Tyrone Johnson's layup. But Chery followed with two foul shots with 1.3 seconds left to seal the game.
It was the ninth straight year the Bears opened 2-0.
Freshman Johnathan Motley added a career high 17 points for Baylor.
Johnson finished with a career-high 21 points for South Carolina.
It's the second straight season these teams have played a down-to-the-wire contest — and the second year Baylor came out on top. Last season, Royce O'Neale made two foul shots at the end for the Bears' 66-64 win.
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