TORONTO – Even without four of its top players, Baylor took Brazil down to the wire for the second time in four days and had a potential game-tying 3-pointer rim out in the final seconds, falling 77-73 in Sunday's gold-medal game in the inaugural GLOBL JAM.
            An 18-year-old freshman for a Baylor team that represented USA, Keyonte George got a good look off a designed play coming out of a timeout. But, the shot from the left wing rimmed in and out, with Brazil's Jao Marcello Pereira tipping it out of the cylinder on a play that's allowed by international rules.
            Tournament MVP Yago dos Santos, a 23-year-old professional player, had a double-double with 30 points and 11 assists and was 13-of-15 from the free throw line. The Brazilians outscored the Bears, 20-7, at the foul line and were whistled for eight fewer fouls (23-15).
            After exploding for 37 points in Baylor's 93-87 upset of Canada in Saturday's semifinals, George scored seven of his 12 points in the fourth quarter for his fifth-straight double-digit outing. But, he struggled against Brazil's suffocating defense, hitting just 4-of-17 overall and 1-of-5 from 3-point range and turning it over six times.
            "Keyonte is a joy to coach, because he wants to get better," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, who had five newcomers in a nine-man rotation.
            "Anytime you talk to him about any facet of the game, he tries to get better in that area. That's really important, because so many guys with big reputations, it might just be about their shots or scoring. When you get guys that are about winning and doing what it takes to win, that's when you know you've got something special."
            Four other Baylor players scored in double figures, led by West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges with 13 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block before fouling out with 14.3 seconds left. Jordan Turner and Kilgore College transfer Dantwan Grimes added 11 points apiece, while Dale Bonner had 10 points, seven assists and three steals.
            Sitting out the tournament with injuries they suffered last year were returning guards Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer, redshirt freshman Langston Love and senior forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua.
            A Division II transfer who averaged just 3.1 points per game last season, Bonner was the Bears' second-leading scorer in the tournament, averaging 11.0 points and 5.8 assists. The tournament's leading scorer, George had two 30-point games and averaged 22.8 per game.
            "The first thing for player development is you've got to have guys that want to work and get better," Drew said. "That's a big reason why we select the guys we select, because they've got to spend a lot of time in there on their own. I know this summer has been different, because getting ready for this, we haven't had time to do that. But, the rest of July we'll set that up, and our guys will know what they need to get better on."
            Trailing by five with under 1:30 left in the game, the Bears tied it up with a step-back 3-pointer by Grimes and a putback by Bridges. Brazil regained the lead when dos Santos drove and dished to Ruan Miranda for a layup that put the Brazilians up by two with 31 seconds left.
            With Baylor looking for a go-ahead 3-pointer, Grimes was fouled by Reynan dos Santos, but missed the second free throw that would have tied it up with 20.7 seconds left.
Much like a 73-71 loss three days earlier, George had the shot at the end, but it didn't go.
            Winless in round-robin play, Baylor upset Canada in the semifinals before losing to Brazil in the gold-medal game to finish 1-4 overall. In Sunday's game, the Bears also got eight points and seven rebounds from freshman Josh Ojianwuna and six points and eight boards from BYU transfer Caleb Lohner.
            "That's why foreign tours are so important and why you oly get them once every four years," Drew said, "because you get that extra bonding, extra competition, extra practices. At the same time, this is another level, because you're representing USA. You look at it, you had Italy, Brazil and Canada, all great teams, so many good games. And that helps all of us for the future for the guys that played."
            Brazil, which won four in a row after an opening-round loss to Canada, also got double-digit points from Caio Pacheco (12) and a double-double from Marcio Santos (11 points, 10 boards).