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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Caleb Lohner was all over the glass Thursday night in Baylor debut at the Big 12 men's basketball tournament.
The senior from the Dallas area pulled down a season high-tying seven rebounds, including six on the defensive glass that helped key a 12-2 run, in the Bears' 68-56 win over 11th-seeded Cincinnati.
But the only thing surprising about his performance was that none of his teammates were surprised.
The former Wasatch Academy star, one-time Utah signee and BYU transfer was a key cog in building a 47-33 lead midway through the second half that helped Baylor hold off the Bearcats — and he didn't score at all.
But Lohner pulled down a pair of defensive rebounds before setting up Ja'Kobe Walter and RayJ Dennis with consecutive 3-pointers that Cincinnati coach Wes Miller turned into a timeout with a double-digit deficit inside a less-than-capacity crowd at the T-Mobile Center.
"I think that's one of my strengths, and I'm going to play to my strengths and do what I can to help," Lohner said. "If that's on the glass, then I'm going to do it. I'm surrounded by great shooters, and this team is super special. It makes my life easy. I get to hit the glass hard, and these guys get to finish it off for me."
Lohner also provided a spark on the offensive end, scoring 5 points in the first half including 3-of-4 shooting from the free-throw line during Baylor's slow start. It's a familiar role for the son of former BYU basketball player Matt Lohner: fulfilling whatever the Bears during a postseason run that ESPN's Joe Lunardi currently projects as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
But well before Selection Sunday, Cincinnati punched the Big 12's No. 4 seed in the mouth, jumping out to a 12-3 start at the 13:40 mark of the first half.
Baylor coach Scott Drew inserted Lohner into the lineup, and the 6-foot-8, 235-pound senior immediately drew a foul, added another trip to the free-throw line in transition, and added the game-tying bucket on a jumper in the paint to cap a 9-0 run with 8:57 to go.
That helped Baylor trail by just 2 points, treading water long enough until the Bears could begin to pull away in the middle of the second half.
"Caleb is probably one of the best teammates I've ever played with," said Dennis, the Big 12 freshman of the year who is averaging 6.6 assists per game. "Everybody wants to play a ton of minutes every night, and that's not the case always. But he's always really positive, a really good dude. Tonight he played extended minutes and honestly kept us in the game and kept our energy in the first half. He was great all night."
Dennis didn't just say that because Lohner is his "golfing buddy," Baylor coach Scott Drew joked. He meant it.
That's because the curly-haired Lohner who can often be seen with a skateboard has prided himself in being the Bears' "energy guy" since he transferred to Waco two years ago after playing two for BYU. In that time, the forward from Flower Mound, Texas, has averaged 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.4 minutes per game.
Yet his impact sometimes goes beyond the box score.
"My role is to bring energy, boost the team when I can, and be the best version of myself to help these guys win," he said. "At the end of the day, my goal is to win and where ever I can be the best value on the court — rebounding the ball, playing defense, flying around the court, just have energy, that's what I'm going to do. I'm really proud of the guys and thankful for my coaches for putting me in those positions."
Lohner's path through college basketball has been as winding as any in the sport's modern era, once signing with Utah before asking out of his letter of intent following the Utes' dismissal of Larry Krystkowiak. He then moved south to Utah's biggest rival, played two seasons under Mark Pope, and then opted to transfer to Baylor — about a two-hour drive from where he grew up in the Dallas area.
And he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Baylor's been incredible," Lohner said. "I can't thank these coaches enough; it's changed me as a man, and changed my life forever. I'll always be a Baylor Bear when it comes to basketball. I may have certain options and things I'm thinking about, but right now, I'm a Bear and I'm going to help this team win. This is a special groups and I take a lot of pride trying to do my best to help win games at this moment."
