The OU men’s basketball team lost its sixth straight game Saturday by a score of 70-63 to the No. 24 Baylor Bears in Norman.

For Baylor, it was the first time the Golden Bears defeated OU in Norman since 1977.

“That’s a long time,” Baylor guard LaceDarius Dunn said. “It was a long journey but we came out and played Baylor basketball.”

The Sooners got off to a quick start, opening up a ten-point lead at one point in the first half. However, soon after OU got that lead, Baylor went on an 8-0 run to draw within two points.

“I thought we did a good job of attacking the zone early, but later on we just didn’t play smart,” head coach Jeff Capel said.

The Golden Bears gained their first lead with fewer than five minutes to go in the first half, and went to the locker room leading the Sooners 36-35.

OU was led in scoring by freshman forward Tiny Gallon, who scored 17 points in the first half and finished the game with 23 points and 15 rebounds.

Gallon’s performance against Baylor was what Capel said he has been looking for out of the freshman big man all season.

“Not necessarily 23 and 15, but just being a presence down low and on the boards for us,” Capel said.

Baylor forward Ekpe Udoh gave Gallon credit for his strength down low.

“I don’t know how much [Gallon] weighs, but he’s strong,” Baylor forward Ekpe Udoh said.

Dunn teased his teammate about his size after the game.

“I’m going to make sure Ekpe gets in the weight room when we get back,” Dunn said.

The two teams traded baskets for most of the second half, with neither one able to establish a significant run.

Dunn scored 16 points for Baylor in the first half, but was relatively quiet in the second scoring only five points when senior forward Tony Crocker was guarding him.

“They did a great job of keying on me in the second half,” Dunn said. “They put one of their best defenders on me so I give credit to them.

Udoh, a native of Edmond, Okla., kept the Sooner big men busy by scoring 20 points and blocking seven shots. He broke the Big 12 single season blocks record with his performance against OU.

“Ekpe is a good player,” Gallon said. “He can shoot, he can post up and he can block shots. He’s ready for the next level.”

Baylor played a zone defense for most of the game, but OU was not able to capitalize on it with outside shooting. The Sooners shot 2-for-18 from three-point range.

“Defensively we did a very good job,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. “Starting out stopping Tommy Mason-Griffin, it takes a team effort to do that.”

Udoh credited the Bear’s defensive success to the strategy.

“In our zone, we just tried to funnel everything inside,” Udoh said.

The already short-handed Sooners took another blow when freshman forward Andrew Fitzgerald went down with 1:55 to play in the second half. Fitzgerald walked off the court with help after he appeared to injure his leg while attempting to block a shot.

The Sooners travel to Austin to face the University of Texas on Monday night. OU’s last victory came against Texas at the Lloyd Noble Center on Feb. 6.