No. 12 MBB Takes Down Northwestern State, 58-48

Tuesday, December 20

Waco, Texas

7 PM

Baylor

9-2,0-0Big 12

Northwestern State

8-4,0-0Southland

Northwestern St.

Baylor

No. 12 MBB Takes Down Northwestern State, 58-48

12/20/2022 9:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

BBy Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            What Jalen Bridges was going through wasn't just a little shooting slump, it was a drought of epic proportions for a guy who was one of the best 3-point shooters in the Big 12 two years ago at West Virginia.
            That's why it "felt amazing" when the 6-7 junior forward finally saw a corner trey go through the net with just under eight minutes left in 12^th-ranked Baylor's 58-48 win over Northwestern State Tuesday night at the Ferrell Center.
            "I feel like all shooters go through a slump like this in their career," said Bridges, who had missed 21 of his previous 22 shots from 3-point range before nailing back-to-back treys to rescue a Baylor team that struggled to get anything going against the Demons (8-4).
"This is easily the worst I've ever shot. But every day, my teammates lifted me up, telling me to keep shooting, have faith in myself, believe in myself. And that's really all you could ask for in a group of guys. So, every time I was open, I just let it fly."
            On a night when the two teams combined to shoot just 35% overall and 28% from 3-point distance, Bridges scored a team-high 13 points in shooting an efficient 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from outside the arc.
            "I think we were all relieved, so we all got a Merry Christmas gift there," Baylor coach Scott Drew said of Bridges, who came into the game making just 15.6% of his 3-point attempts. "He's worked hard on shooting, but I think the last two days he wasn't leaving the gym until he got confidence. I think it showed. Those were two really big 3's."
            Playing their second game in three days, and this time without point guard Adam Flagler (illness), the Bears had a hard time putting away a Northwestern State team that was trying to record its second win over a ranked Big 12 team this season. The Demons defeated then-No. 15 TCU, 64-63, five weeks ago in Fort Worth.
            "There's a reason TCU lost to this team," Drew said. "Their style of play is really good as far as something no one wants to play against. it gives them a chance to stay in games like this. I thought our guys played really good defense. If we didn't give up the defensive rebounds, we would have had a better margin and we would have all felt a little bit better about it."
            Leading by just two at the break, the Bears used a 14-0 run early in the second half to finally create a little separation. Dale Bonner hit a jumper and a pair of free throws in the stretch and also fed LJ Cryer for the first of his two 3-pointers in the decisive run.
            "We were getting great looks from 3, they just weren't really falling," Bridges said of the first-half struggles. "We were getting great looks in general. We just made a point emphasis to get into the paint and create for others and create easy looks for our teammates. That's what we did, and it worked."
            Bonner and Cryer scored 11 points apiece to make up for the loss of Flagler, but Cryer was just 3-of-10 from 3-point range.
            When the Demons whittled a 16-point deficit in half, Bridges responded with the back-to-back 3-pointers and Cryer fed Flo Thamba for a layup that gave the Bears a comfortable 50-34 lead with a little over six minutes left on the clock.
            Ja'Monta Black, who scored 17 points to share game-high scoring honors with teammate DeMarcus Sharp, hit back-to-back 3-pointers that pulled Northwestern State back within single digits, 52-44. But Caleb Lohner hit a pair of free throws and a dunk off a dish from Bonner to help Baylor close it out.
            "Second half, I thought our shot selection was better," Drew said. "The 3's, we had some good looks. If we have good looks and miss them, I can live with that. We just have to get rebounds. And for them to (outscore us 16-14 in second-chance points), that's not acceptable. That's not good enough."
            Bonner and Bridges both flirted with double-doubles, getting seven assists and seven rebounds, respectfully, while 6-10 freshman forward Josh Ojianwuna had five points and a team-high eight boards.
            "The first few games we played, I was kind of worried about playing time and stuff," Ojianwuna said. "But I got some advice from (Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua). He was like, 'Don't worry about playing time. It's a long season.' So, there are more games to play. Right now, I feel like I'm getting to the stage where I don't have to worry about playing time. Any minutes I get, just play hard."
            Baylor will get a seven-day Christmas break before hosting Nicholls (6-6) for its last pre-conference game on Dec. 28.