By Grant Morrison | Sports Writer
Baylor men’s basketball put together a dominant offensive performance Monday night in the Foster Pavilion, besting the Abilene Christian Wildcats 88-57 in Scott Drew’s 450th win as head coach of the Bears.
Baylor (6-3) highlighted the game with pinpoint accuracy, knocking down its first 10 field goal attempts, three of which were from the 3-point range. The green and gold ended the night shooting 59.3% from the floor. Five different Bears finished in double figures, led by senior guard Jayden Nunn’s 18 points with a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from long range.
“Just lock in, stay focused on the routine,” Nunn said. “You’ve got to move on to the next shot and don’t think about the last one. Just go up there and be confident.”
Fifth-year senior guard Jeremy Roach was unavailable with a concussion, giving freshman guard Robert O. Wright III his first career start. He made the most of the opportunity, attacking the rim efficiently and kicking the ball back to the outside when no lane presented itself.
“He really did a good job. Abilene’s one of the best pressure teams, they force a lot of turnovers and he handled that pressure and broke down the defense… a lot of good things happened because of him,” Drew said.
Under the rim, junior forward Josh Ojianwuna put up a career-high 13 points while tying his career-high two assists. He was also the Bears’ most reliable free throw shooter (5-for-6), where Baylor again struggled with consistency in the first half.
“We’re an 8-for-9 team, which we were in the second half. We’re not a 2-for-7 team, [which we were in the first half],” Drew said.
While Baylor found success from beyond the arc, the same could not be said for the Wildcats. Abilene Christian did not hit a 3-pointer until Australian senior guard Hunter Jack Madden sank one with 9:16 left in the second half.
Seeing the Wildcats’ inability to score from three, Baylor backed off and let them make mistakes, focusing on guarding the paint and protecting the rim. The defensive strategy paid off: Abilene Christian continued wasting possessions with deep shots from the perimeter while the Bears collected the rebounds.
“I feel like the defensive adjustment was a great one,” Ojianwuna said. “Coach asked me what was going on, why they aren’t making the threes, and I said it was the zone, so I feel like that was an adjustment by the coaching staff.”
Defensively, Baylor held the Wildcats to only 34.5% from the floor and dominated the glass with 27 defensive rebounds to ACU’s 18. Ojianwuna was joined by fifth-year senior forward Norchad Omier and freshman guard V.J. Edgecombe, who each tallied six rebounds.
Not satisfied with the rebounds alone, Edgecombe grabbed a career-high four steals and a block, on which he drove down the court and slammed down a dunk.
While ACU found a bit of momentum early in the second half—starting with six unanswered points, then outscoring Baylor 15-14—the Bears quickly regained their composure by scoring on back-to-back fast break possessions highlighted by a layup from Omier just over the outstretched hand of a defender.
Baylor then went on an 8-0 run, during which the Wildcats were 0-for-5 shooting. The Bears never looked back, cruising to a decisive victory in front of a roaring home crowd, 88-57.
The win was Baylor’s fifth straight at home this year, and the team will have a chance to extend that streak with a morning matchup against Norfolk State (6-4).
“Hopefully we get a lot of college students because they bring a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm, and it’s right before finals. So, any frustration you have with any professors, you can come get it out at the game,” Drew said.
Tipoff against the Spartans is set for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Foster Pavillion and will be streamed on ESPN+.
