
No. 12 MBB Wins Sixth-Straight Against West Virginia
2/17/2024 7:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bears have six players score in double-figures, led by Ja'Kobe Walter with 23
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The 12th-ranked Baylor Bears are tough enough when they have a couple hot hands going. As they showed Saturday night at WVU Coliseum, when they get six guys going at the same time, they're downright unbeatable.
Just ask the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Six players scored in double figures, led by freshman Ja'Kobe Walter with 23 and VCU transfer Jayden Nunn with 20, as the Bears (19-6, 8-4) recorded their second-straight double-digit win and beat West Virginia, 94-81, before a crowd of 12,558.
"It takes a team to win," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team has won six straight in this series and nine of the last 10. "If you're going into a game and relying on one person, if they have an off night, you're done. If the defense takes them away, you're done. So, it's great when you have balance, so when it's not your night, you have people to pick you up."
Surviving a late run that saw the Mountaineers (8-17, 3-9) hit seven-straight shots and get back within nine, the Bears hit 15-of-16 free throws over the last 5 ½ minutes to ice the win.
"Our shots weren't falling as much as they normally do, but there was a point in the game where they were," said Walter, who knocked down four 3-pointers and hit 7-of-8 from the line. "I think that really got all of us on our feet. I think our offense was flowing pretty well. It kind of got down later in the game, but we were knocking down our free throws to keep the lead."
Back and forth early, there were three lead changes before Baylor reeled off seven unanswered points and took the lead for good on a second-chance bucket by RayJ Dennis and a breakaway layup by Josh Ojianwuna off a steal.
Completing an extended 12-2 run, Jalen Bridges had a dunk off another West Virginia turnover, Nunn scored on a driving layup and Yves Missi hit one of two free throws to push the lead to 21-14. Bridges, a West Virginia native who spent his first three years at WVU, had another dunk off an assist from Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua that made it 42-34 going into the break.
"Really proud of the guys as far getting off to a quick start," Drew said. "We really wanted to do that. And from the beginning of the game, I thought we really did a great job on the offensive end. Defensively, late in the game, West Virginia did a great job in making sure they made things tough on us all the way to the end."
Nunn hit two 3-pointers in the first minute and a half of the second half and Dennis drained a trey that gave the Bears their biggest lead, 66-44, with 12:34 left in the game.
West Virginia did make it a single-digit spread, 89-80, on RaeQuan Battle's fourth 3-pointer with 1:26 left. The Bears didn't hit a field goal in the last six-plus minutes, missing their last five shots from the field, but scored their last 15 points on free throws and finished 22-of-30 from the line.
"I feel like we just came out and we knew we needed to win," said sophomore forward Josh Ojianwuna, who was 5-for-5 from the field and finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals. "Everyone was coming out with a positive mindset of, 'We have to win.'''
Dennis just missed a double-double with 18 points and eight assists, hitting 8-of-9 from the line. Missi was also 5-for-5 from the floor and scored 13 points, while Bridges hit a pair of free throws in the last minute to finish with 10 points, seven boards and two steals.
Baylor won a tight rebounding battle, 27-25, and scored 22 second-chance points off nine offensive boards. The Bears were 12-of-32 from outside the arc and shot 53.6% overall (30-of-56).
Battle and Jesse Edwards were the only double-digit scorers for the Mountaineers, finishing with 25 and 21 points, respectively.
The Bears kept pace with league-leading Houston (22-3, 9-3) and Iowa State (20-5, 9-3), who both won on Saturday as well, sitting in third place at 8-4 in conference play.
Flying directly from Morgantown to Provo, Utah, Baylor will complete its two-game road swing with a matchup versus No. 19 BYU (18-7, 6-6) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Marriott Center. The Cougars suffered a 93-83 loss Saturday afternoon at Oklahoma State.
Just ask the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Six players scored in double figures, led by freshman Ja'Kobe Walter with 23 and VCU transfer Jayden Nunn with 20, as the Bears (19-6, 8-4) recorded their second-straight double-digit win and beat West Virginia, 94-81, before a crowd of 12,558.
"It takes a team to win," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team has won six straight in this series and nine of the last 10. "If you're going into a game and relying on one person, if they have an off night, you're done. If the defense takes them away, you're done. So, it's great when you have balance, so when it's not your night, you have people to pick you up."
Surviving a late run that saw the Mountaineers (8-17, 3-9) hit seven-straight shots and get back within nine, the Bears hit 15-of-16 free throws over the last 5 ½ minutes to ice the win.
"Our shots weren't falling as much as they normally do, but there was a point in the game where they were," said Walter, who knocked down four 3-pointers and hit 7-of-8 from the line. "I think that really got all of us on our feet. I think our offense was flowing pretty well. It kind of got down later in the game, but we were knocking down our free throws to keep the lead."
Back and forth early, there were three lead changes before Baylor reeled off seven unanswered points and took the lead for good on a second-chance bucket by RayJ Dennis and a breakaway layup by Josh Ojianwuna off a steal.
Completing an extended 12-2 run, Jalen Bridges had a dunk off another West Virginia turnover, Nunn scored on a driving layup and Yves Missi hit one of two free throws to push the lead to 21-14. Bridges, a West Virginia native who spent his first three years at WVU, had another dunk off an assist from Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua that made it 42-34 going into the break.
"Really proud of the guys as far getting off to a quick start," Drew said. "We really wanted to do that. And from the beginning of the game, I thought we really did a great job on the offensive end. Defensively, late in the game, West Virginia did a great job in making sure they made things tough on us all the way to the end."
Nunn hit two 3-pointers in the first minute and a half of the second half and Dennis drained a trey that gave the Bears their biggest lead, 66-44, with 12:34 left in the game.
West Virginia did make it a single-digit spread, 89-80, on RaeQuan Battle's fourth 3-pointer with 1:26 left. The Bears didn't hit a field goal in the last six-plus minutes, missing their last five shots from the field, but scored their last 15 points on free throws and finished 22-of-30 from the line.
"I feel like we just came out and we knew we needed to win," said sophomore forward Josh Ojianwuna, who was 5-for-5 from the field and finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals. "Everyone was coming out with a positive mindset of, 'We have to win.'''
Dennis just missed a double-double with 18 points and eight assists, hitting 8-of-9 from the line. Missi was also 5-for-5 from the floor and scored 13 points, while Bridges hit a pair of free throws in the last minute to finish with 10 points, seven boards and two steals.
Baylor won a tight rebounding battle, 27-25, and scored 22 second-chance points off nine offensive boards. The Bears were 12-of-32 from outside the arc and shot 53.6% overall (30-of-56).
Battle and Jesse Edwards were the only double-digit scorers for the Mountaineers, finishing with 25 and 21 points, respectively.
The Bears kept pace with league-leading Houston (22-3, 9-3) and Iowa State (20-5, 9-3), who both won on Saturday as well, sitting in third place at 8-4 in conference play.
Flying directly from Morgantown to Provo, Utah, Baylor will complete its two-game road swing with a matchup versus No. 19 BYU (18-7, 6-6) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Marriott Center. The Cougars suffered a 93-83 loss Saturday afternoon at Oklahoma State.
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