By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer, Braden Murray | LTVN Sports Director
No. 12 Baylor men’s basketball unleashed a torrid offense again Sunday in the Foster Pavilion, scoring in triple digits in consecutive games for the first time in the Scott Drew era. Six players scored in double figures and Jayden Nunn eclipsed 1,000 career points as the Bears leveled Tarleton State, 104-41.
LTVN’s Braden Murray breaks down the Bears’ dominant home win.
“It’s fun when we can just go out there and hoop,” said five-star freshman wing VJ Edgecombe, who finished with a career-high 17 points alongside five rebounds, three blocks and four steals.
The floodgates opened 60 seconds into the game. Fifth-year guard Jeremy Roach drove and kicked to Nunn on the left wing, who knocked down his 10th 3-pointer of the season. The shot officially moved Nunn past the 1,000 career point mark.
“I think one of the coolest things was seeing the guys drench him with water and just celebrate his thousandth point,” Drew said. “That’s a great honor, but you can tell how much the team really respects him and loves him by the way they were happy for him and celebrated with him.”
Nunn was exceptional. He entered Sunday night’s game second on the team in scoring (13.7 points per game) while shooting 50% from the field and 45% from three. He kept up that pace against the Texans (1-4), finishing with 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting (3-for-5 from three) to go with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“J-Nunn brings everything to the table, for real,” Edgecombe said. “Energetic guy, super skilled, can shoot the ball at a really high level, defend at a high level, attack — he does everything on the floor.”
The hits kept on coming. The Bears (3-1) opened 7-of-10 from beyond the arc and forced 12 turnovers in under 15 minutes, taking advantage of their perimeter speed and quickness to stifle Tarleton State’s fast-break offense. The Texans didn’t eclipse the 10-point mark until 5:20 remained in the first half.
“Other than [committing 12 turnovers], pretty much a well-executed game,” Drew said. “Really important we got off to a quick start, which we did. And then from there, it was a great first half.”
Edgecombe threw down his regularly scheduled alley-oop on a dart in transition from Roach. Sharpshooting Cal transfer Jalen Celestine shot 3-of-3 from downtown. The Bears assisted on 15 of 16 made field goals. At halftime, they led 56-13, prompting the in-stadium DJ to fire up Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
“I feel like we’re a new offense coming in, new coaching staff, new roster overall, so it’s just going to take some time to gel,” Celestine said. “I feel like we’re starting to hit our stride.”
Celestine recorded his best game as a Bear, scoring 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting (4-of-7 from three), falling one point shy of his career high. He also chipped in two blocks and a steal.
“Jalen gotta rebound a little better, I’m gonna talk to him about that, but his shooting was on fire,” Drew said. “You don’t wanna leave him open.”
The second half saw things slow considerably, as Baylor let off the gas and the Texans switched to a more physical trap on the perimeter, leaving the Bears with more open 3-pointers — which stopped falling. They started the second half 6-for-17 from the field, and 2-for-8 from three, with five turnovers and only two assists.
Eleven minutes in, Tarleton State forward Ronnie Harrison Jr turned a touchdown pass to a slam to pull the second-half scoring within two, 19-17. The Bears shot just 41.7% from the field in the second half, finishing 31-for-60 overall.
“Second half, you’re fighting human nature,” Drew said. “We came out and lost, I think the first media [timeout] 10-4, but after that, really the last 11 minutes, played a lot better.”
Freshman forward Jason Asemota ramped the energy back up with five minutes remaining, converting a tough and-1 in transition and splashing his second career 3-pointer the next drive down. Junior center Josh Ojianwuna was perfect from the free-throw line, knocking down six after going 3-for-6 against Sam Houston. Freshman big man Marino Dubravcic snagged two rebounds and scored his first career points from the charity stripe. The Bears won handily, 104-41.
“We really wanted to make sure we got off to a fast start,” Drew said. “Anytime you can get separation against a really well-coached team, it’s helpful.”
The Bears will hit the road later this week for the Baha Mar Hoops invitational tournament in Nassau, The Bahamas. They’ll take on No. 22 St. John’s on Thursday and either No. 11 Tennessee or Virginia on Friday.
