LAS VEGAS – Avoiding the disastrous 10-minute stretch that cost them in a loss to 16^th-ranked Virginia two nights earlier, the fifth-ranked Baylor Bears "played for 40 minutes" in Sunday's consolation game of the Continental Tire Main Event.
            LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler combined for 50 points to help Baylor bounce back from Friday's first-round loss against Virginia to defeat the eighth-ranked UCLA Bruins, 80-75, in a top-10 matchup at T-Mobile Arena.
            "I'm just proud of our guys and how hard they competed and how we adjusted and did a much better job grinding things out," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team won its sixth-straight against Pac-12 teams in improving to 4-1.
"We played for 40 minutes. Against Virginia (in an 86-79 loss), I thought there was a stretch where we didn't play as hard as we're capable. To win at this level, you've got to do it for 40. And we did it tonight."
            In a back-and-forth game that saw nine ties and 13 lead changes, Cryer hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 28 points while Flagler eclipsed the 20-point mark for the ninth time in his BU career with 22.
            "I tried to do a better job of mixing it up, not being one-dimensional just out there catching and shooting 3's," said Cryer, who was 4-for-8 from 3-point range and 6-of-10 from inside the arc. "Our percentages were obviously better when we got to the paint, so I was just trying to make my way in there."
            After Baylor jumped out to an early 18-9 lead, the Bruins (3-2) went on a 10-0 run and took a 21-19 lead on a Mac Etienne free throw with 7:14 left in the first half. Flagler drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 23 seconds left that gave the Bears a 37-35 lead at the break.
            Jaylen Clark scored 17 of his team-high 23 points in the first half, making 8-of-10 from the floor and adding two assists to keep UCLA in the game. In the second half, Clark scored just six points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from the line.
            "We were still playing good (in the second half), I was just passing," Clark said. "Jaime (Jaquez Jr.) finally got back in because he had the foul trouble early. We played through Jaime, which is the way we want to play."
            After Dylan Andrews knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Bruins a 53-50 lead with just under 12 minutes left, Baylor responded with an 11-0 run that included bookend 3-pointers by Dale Bonner and Flagler to go up 61-53 and never trailed again.
            Down the stretch, when UCLA cut it to a one-point deficit, Cryer hit a clutch 3-pointer and then Flagler nailed a pull-up jumper just inside the 3-point line.
            "LJ is a great shooter, he always makes shots. We count on that," Drew said. "But, I thought his defense was good and he got to the paint. You always see shooting shooting percentages go down in the second or third game in tournaments, normally, and people struggle. What was it, 4-for-21 (from 3-point range) for both teams in the first half. LJ was the one . . . and he's been working on the bank shot."
            After Clark hit a pair of free throws following a David Singleton 3-pointer to make it a one-point game, Cryer came through again with a trey with 2:50 left that pushed the lead to 71-67. And the Bruins were unable to get closer than three points the rest of the way.
            Caleb Lohner had nine points and five rebounds, while Bonner was 6-of-7 from the line and finished with nine points. Freshman Keyonte George struggled, going 0-for-6 from 3-point range and 2-for-10 overall, finishing with four points, four turnovers and three assists in 25 minutes.
            "Playing tournaments like this, it really makes the freshmen grow up in a hurry," Drew said. "LJ and Adam have been through the wars, but it's been great for Keyonte, it's been great for Josh (Ojianwuna), just seeing how hard it is to win at this level. I think both of them made strides, even if it wasn't scoring. Just how they executed game plan and how much they defended and were locked-in."
            Clark had a double-double for UCLA with 23 points and 10 rebounds, scoring 17 in the first half to keep it close.
            In the championship game of the Las Vegas tournament, 16^th-ranked Virginia defeated No. 19 Illinois, 70-61, two days after defeating the Bears, 86-79, in an emotional first-round game for the Cavaliers.
            Baylor returns home to face McNeese State (2-3) at 3 p.m. Wednesday before back-to-back marquee matchups against Marquette (3-1) on Nov. 29 in the Big 12/Big East Challenge in Milwaukee and No. 2 Gonzaga (3-1) in the Peacock Classic on Dec. 2 in Sioux Falls, S.D.