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Freshman guard Keyonte George led Baylor with 24 points, including seven consecutive to put the Bears ahead 62-55. He capped the scoring spurt with a threepointer.

“Just staying locked in, trusting myself, trusting my work,” George said. “The last two minutes, that’s when it comes in being in shape, playing when you’re tired. And being locked in.

“That’s why I think I was able to make those shots down the stretch.”

George finished 8 of 20 from the field, including 2 of 5 on three-pointers, and hit 6 of 6 free throws.

“Oh, he’s phenomenal,” Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said when asked about George’s impact. “He just rose up [on jumpers], knocked down his foul shots.

“Just has an incrediblelooking shot. Twenty-four points in 32 minutes, I mean, he’s a really, really, really special player — really special player.”

George, from Lewisville, Texas, was matched up for much of the game against his close friend, Arkansas freshman guard Anthony Black, who is from Coppell, Texas. The cities are suburbs of Dallas 11 miles apart.

“I’ve been knowing AB since sixth or seventh grade, playing AAU against each other. We played against each other in high school for two years, before I went to IMG [Academy in Florida],” George said. “A lot of people don’t know that we’re best friends.

“I go over to his house, he goes over to my house, we stay at each other’s house. So it was a real emotional game for both of us.

“We talked a lot leading up to this game and we had a lot of fun going at each other. But at the end of the day, we’re not going to take anything personal that we say to each other in between the lines.

“Outside of basketball, outside the lines, we’re brothers. We love each other. I love his family and he loves my family.”

Gymnastics / College Basketball

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2023-01-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.arkansasonline.com/article/285280326609456

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