#25 Bears' second-half rally falls short at Arizona, 81-70
 
BaylorBears.com
 
TUCSON, Ariz. – Unable to dig out of a huge first-half hole, the 25^th-ranked Baylor Bears' second-half rally came up short in an 81-70 loss to an Arizona Wildcat team that now sits atop the Big 12 standings.
 
One of three double-digit scorers for the Wildcats, 7-foot sophomore Henri Veesaar scored a career-high 19 points to help Big 12 newcomer Arizona win its seventh in a row and climb to the top of the conference at 11-5 overall and 5-0 in league play.
 
"Arizona did a great job, (in the) first half, of just punching us in the mouth, taking it to us," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "I was proud of how we battled back, but I thought they really did a great job with their physicality and getting what they wanted in the first half. I was proud of our guys in the last 10 minutes of the game."
 
Baylor (11-5, 3-2), which scored a season-low 19 points in the first half, trailed by 23 at halftime and fell behind by as many as 27 in the second half. But the Bears scored 51 second-half points and got the deficit to single digits with a 20-6 run.
 
Freshmen Robert O. Wright III and VJ Edgecombe led the way with 16 and 14 points, respectively, with guards Jeremy Roach and Jayden Nunn adding 13 and 10. Strapped with two early fouls and two more in the second half, Miami transfer Norchad Omier was limited to 26 minutes and finished with nine points and four boards.
 
Dominating on both ends of the floor, Arizona shot a sizzling 53.6% overall and an uncharacteristic 7-of-12 from 3-point range to take a 42-19 lead into the locker room. That lead stretched to a 27-point cushion 65 seconds into the second half on a pair of buckets by Jaden Bradley.
 
Finally getting on track in the last seven minutes, the Bears got back within single digits, 71-62, on a 3-pointer by Edgecombe with 2:52 left that capped off the 20-6 run. The Wildcats were able to close it out by making 10-of-12 free throws down the stretch and 16-of-25 for the game.
 
"I think just pride; embarrassed how we played," Drew said of the Bears' second-half comeback, when they shot 69% overall and 15-of-18 (83.3%) from inside the arc. "Then, we played better. Fortunately, in this game, when you make a couple of shots you play better. And if any coach can ever figure out how to avoid that, to play well when you're not making shots and (playing) hard defensively and rebounding, you'd make a lot of money selling that."
 
Bradley added 13 and KJ Lewis 11 for Arizona, while preseason All-American Caleb Love was just 1-of-6 from 3-point distance and was held to eight points. After a scoreless first half, Baylor center Josh Ojianwuna continued his strong play in conference with eight points, six rebounds, two blocks and a steal and didn't have a turnover in 36 minutes.
 
This was the third game in a row that the Bears played essentially a six-man rotation, with Cal transfer Jalen Celestine and redshirt junior Langston Love both out with ankle injuries.
 
Returning home after splitting the two games in the Grand Canyon State, Baylor will host TCU (9-6, 2-2) at 4 p.m. Sunday at Foster Pavilion. The Horned Frogs have won two of their last three and face Utah on Wednesday.

Game Notes

• Baylor is 11-5 on the season and 3-2 in conference play. Arizona is 11-5 and 5-0 in Big 12 play
• Arizona now leads the all-time series 6-5, and is 2-1 against the Bears in the Drew Era 
• The Bears are 31-16 in Big 12 Road games since 2019-20, the best mark in the conference during that span
• BU is now 8-1 against the Arizona schools in the Drew Era (2-1 vs. U of A and 6-0 vs. ASU)
• Baylor is 166-101 in Big 12 in the last 15 seasons after going 50-149 in the league's first 13 seasons.
• The Bears are 139-40 over the last six seasons, the nation's best winning percentage among power-5 teams in that span.
• Scott Drew is 475-260 in his 23 seasons overall and 455-250 in his 22nd season with the Bears.
• Baylor's 330 wins since 2011-12 are second-most in the Big 12 behind only Kansas. 
• Baylor is 421-178 since 2007-08, which marked Drew's first season with a full allotment of scholarships. 
• 19 first-half points were Baylor's fewest since scoring 17 in the first half last season at Michigan State (Dec. 16, 2023)
• The Bears used the starting lineup of Jeremy Roach, Jayden Nunn, VJ Edgecombe, Norchad Omier and Josh Ojianwuna for the 13th time this season, the Bears are 9-4 using that lineup
• Roach scored in double figures for the third time in five Big 12 games and the eighth time this season
• Nunn scored 10-points for a second-straight game, his ninth game in double figures this season
• Edgecombe finished with 14 points and a team-high 7 rebounds, his fourth double-figure scoring game in five Big 12 outings
• Edgecombe led the team in rebounds for a third time this season, the Bears are 2-1 in those games
• Robert Wright had a team-high 16 points, the second time he has led the team in scoring this season
• Wright also had a team-high four assists the sixth time he led the team in assists this season