Baylor
2-0,0-0Big 12
John Brown
0-1
Love Leads MBB to 96-70 Win over John Brown
11/9/2023 1:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas - Back on the court less than 32 hours after returning home from Sioux Falls, S.D., and a season-opening win over Auburn, the 20th-ranked Baylor Bears were naturally a "step slow" Thursday morning at the Ferrell Center.
But if they needed a wake-up call, it came from 3,000 screaming Waco elementary school students for the annual "Future Bears Day" game.
Sophomore guard Langston Love matched his career high with 20 points and Toledo transfer RayJ Dennis had 16 points, eight assists and six steals to lead Baylor (2-0) to a 96-70 win over a John Brown NAIA program from Siloam Springs, Ark.
"You're a step slow, you've got heavy legs," said Baylor coach Scott Drew. "You're a step slow to the 50-50 balls and rebounds, but now it's all about taking care of things. I thought the second half, especially the last 10 minutes, we really did a much better job of dialing in and defensively really playing well."
Coached by former Baylor grad assistant coach Jason Beschta (2003-04), the Golden Eagles were able to hang around and make a game of it much longer than expected. They trailed by 13 at the break and got back within single digits, 52-43, on a 3-pointer by Malachi Reeves 4 ½ minutes into the second half.
"It was a great learning experience for a lot of our guys," Drew said, "that with the new Big 12, you've got more travel and get back at 3:30 in the morning. You've got to get used to getting up, going to school, going to work, playing the next day because you play on Saturdays and Mondays. And you know in the conference tournament, you get back-to-back games.
"So, this was really good to see what worked for us, what didn't work for us, what we could do better. With a lot of new guys, each game experience we get a chance to see what they can do."
After a record-setting performance in Tuesday's 88-82 win over Auburn, scoring 28 points in his collegiate debut, freshman sensation Ja'Kobe Walter was just 1-of-6 from 3-point range and finished with seven points, one assist and one steal in 24 minutes.
But the Bears' bench more than picked up the slack, combining for 52 points. Freshman 7-footer Yves Missi had 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks, while 6-10 sophomore Josh Ojianwuna had seven points and 10 boards (eight offensive) in just 12 minutes.
"Both of them are more than capable of scoring around the rim," Drew said. "Yves and Josh have good touch, and that's not just because of today, but in practices they finish well. . . . Yves has got stuff you can't teach and he's got bounce you can't coach."
VCU transfer Jayden Nunn scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half, hitting 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and finished with four steals, three assists and zero turnovers. The Bears stretched it out to a double-digit lead on Nunn's second try of the game and were up 47-34 at the half.
"He's somebody that shot 40% last year from 3, so he's more than capable to be consistent from 3," Drew said of Nunn. "We know he's really good at getting to the rim. And I really like three assists, zero turnovers. That's really solid for him."
John Brown used back-to-back 3-pointers by Askew Ahlante and Drew Miller to close the gap to 50-40 before Drew called a timeout just 2 ½ minutes into the second half. Love, who scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, said the message during the timeout was "habits, habits, habits."
"When they went on their run, we just knew that if we kept doing our habits and just kept pushing, then everything would turn out in our favor at the end," Love said.
After Reeves knocked down another 3-pointer, Dennis scored back-to-back buckets, then fed Love for a three-point play, with Love capping a 10-0 run with another 3-pointer and pushing the lead to 62-43.
"In the second half, we made a point to lock down on defense," Dennis said. "That was the focal point, and we were able to come out . . . some balls fell my way and we were able to get a couple leak-outs."
On "tired legs," the Bears shot 56.2% overall (41-of-73), but made just 5-of-23 (21.7%) from outside the arc and 9-of-16 (56.3%) from the free throw line. Baylor did dominate the boards, 43-24 and outscored the Golden Eagles on points in the paint, 66-28.
Beschta said he was grateful to Drew "for just giving us this opportunity, because it means a lot, not just to players, but to us." Miller hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points, while Reeves was 7-for-7 from the field and finished with 17 points.
"We get to get in here and play against a big-time, a top-20 team," Beschta said. "That's a dream for anybody that's going to play college basketball. You want to see how you do in this kind of environment."
Playing the second of three-consecutive home games, Baylor will face Gardner-Webb (1-0) at 4 p.m. Sunday. The Runnin' Bulldogs play 14th-ranked Arkansas Friday night in Fayetteville before coming to Waco for the afternoon matinee.
