Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
WACO, Texas – At 6-7 and 250 pounds, Norchad Omier has a very similar physique and plays with the same kind of physicality as former Baylor forward Rico Gathers. They both look for contact rather than trying to avoid it and think every rebound is theirs.
 
Starting with a dunk off a feed from point guard Jeremy Roach just 17 seconds into Friday's game at Foster Pavilion, Omier dominated from the opening tip and finished with 19 points and a season-high 24 rebounds as the 25^th-ranked Baylor Bears returned from a 15-day break to rout the overmatched Arlington Baptist Patriots, 107-53.
 
"I don't really think about it, it just comes natural," said Omier, a transfer from Miami who also scored his 2,000^th career point in the game. "It's a gift from God. I really don't think about it. I just try to play the hardest, rely on instinct, and do what I can do to just get the rebound."
 
Facing a 1-10 Arlington Baptist team that has only one player taller than 6-6, Omier had his way, nearly matching the Patriots' total number of boards (31) and grabbing 17 on the defensive end.
 
The Bears (8-3) ran their winning streak to three in their final conference tune-up before opening league play with a New Year's Eve matchup against Utah (8-3).
 
"From a coaching standpoint, I think this game accomplished everything that we wanted it to," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "(We were) able to get the rust out, able to try a bunch of different lineups, work on a couple things. And, at the same time, be able to play a lot of guys and get a chance with the long break to have a game before conference. We only had one practice before we played, and that was great to be able to let guys stay home Christmas day."
 
They hardly looked like a team with only one practice under their belts after a long break, using an early 23-0 run to take a commanding 51-28 halftime edge. Omier already had a double-double at the break, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in just 14 minutes.
 
"As a coach, (you know) some people got touch and some don't," Drew said. "Some got a nose for the ball, some don't. (Omier) has got a great feel. And good rebounders assume every rebound is (going) to them. That's part of it, too, going for every rebound."
 
Baylor had seven players score in double figures for the second time this season, including Josh Ojianwuna notching his first double-double of the season and second of his career with 10 points, 10 rebounds and tying Omier with three blocks.
 
"I would say the goal was getting our rhythm back," Ojianwuna said. "We all went home for six days. Some guys probably didn't touch a basketball, just hanging out with their families. This game, the goal was to help us get our rhythm and get ready for the Big 12 Conference."
 
Freshman Robert Wright III finished one assist shy of a double-double with 13 points, nine assists and three steals, while Roach had eight points and seven assists after missing the previous two games in concussion protocol.
 
Jayden Nunn, Langston Love and Cal transfer Jalen Celestine scored 11 points apiece, with freshman VJ Edgecombe scoring eight of his 10 points in the second half and adding six rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block.
 
Going on a pair of 11-0 runs in the second half, the Bears stretched their lead out to as many as 58. Omier reached the 2,000-point career milestone with 6:11 left in the game when he blocked a shot on the defensive end, took it the other way and made a layup that gave Baylor a 92-45 lead.
 
"I've just got to give thanks to God first of all," said Omier, who had the most rebounds by a Baylor player since Gathers had 28 against Huston-Tillotson on Jan. 21, 2015. "Without him, none of this would be possible. Just being in this program, with all these great people, we put God in first place always. And I've just got to give him all the glory."
 
Freshman Jason Asemota also had an impressive game with seven points and a career-high nine rebounds, scoring the Bears' 100^th point on a layup off a steal and assist from Wright with 2:59 left.
 
With Baylor going deep into its bench for the last five minutes, grad transfer Davidson Hubbard knocked down his first 3-pointer for the Bears and 91^st of his career; and Wright fed Marino Dubravcic and Omar Adegbola for dunks.
 
"We're a team that celebrates culture of JOY – Jesus, others, yourself," Ojianwuna said. "We know when we're winning the game, (the bench) is cheering for us and happy for us playing the game. So, we've got to do the same. No one is being selfish about not playing or coming out of the game."
 
Wright upped his team-best assists total to 63 in just 11 games, leaving him 57 shy of the Baylor freshman record of 120 set by John Lucas in 2002.
 
Jamar McCray led Arlington Baptist with 10 points, going 5-for-7 from the floor and adding seven rebounds. The Patriots were dominated on the boards 66-31 and were held to 27.9% shooting overall and 5-of-23 from distance.
 
Averaging 98.0 points in six home games, while outscoring its opponents by 40.2 points per game, Baylor will host Big 12 newcomer Utah in the league opener at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Foster.