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    The Baylor Lariat
    Home»Featured

    ‘They played harder than us’: No. 25 Baylor drops second straight, falls to TCU, 74-71

    Foster NicholasBy Foster NicholasJanuary 19, 2025Updated:January 20, 2025 Featured No Comments7 Mins Read
    TCU guard Brendan Wenzel, center left, goes up to shoot the winning basket against Baylor defenders in the final seconds of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Waco, Texas. AP Photo
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    By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor

    Head coach Scott Drew looked on as No. 25 Baylor men’s basketball scored six points in four seconds to tie the game. With six seconds on the clock, TCU senior guard Brendan Wenzel swished a corner 3-pointer to give the Horned Frogs a 74-71 lead.

    Drew ushered his arm toward Baylor’s side of the court, encouraging his team to push the ball and find one last shot. While the Bears (11-6, 3-3 Big 12) had one last timeout, Drew didn’t use it.

    “I thought down the stretch, they were playing free and we were playing not to lose,” Drew said. “These are games where when you can separate, you’ve got to separate, and if you don’t, this is what happens.”

    Fifth-year forward Norchad Omier rolled the ball toward freshman guard Robert O. Wright III, who had to quickly yank the ball off the floor as a double-team circled him. Wright wiggled out of the defense and stormed down the court before tossing the ball to senior guard Jayden Nunn in the corner. With less than a second on the clock, Nunn’s potential second game-tying shot was swatted up in the air to seal TCU’s (10-7, 3-3 Big 12) win.

    “You can’t get comfortable at any moment. You can’t get comfortable,” Omier said. “We had a big lead. They came back. They told me about Big 12 play, and now I’m experiencing it firsthand.”

    Fuming on the bench, Drew slammed his hands on the scorer’s table in frustration and begrudgingly went through the handshake line. Feeling the disappointment, the team huddled at halfcourt for a postgame prayer, then everyone but Omier and a few assistant coaches left the floor before “That Good Ol’ Baylor Line” was played by the band. Something that hadn’t happened all season.

    “Obviously, TCU earned the win. They beat us up on the boards, 41-25,” Drew said. “When they got rolling, we didn’t have answers. Then, we were able to tie it up and had a defensive breakdown on the last play. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to win your home games, so we’ve got to make this up somewhere.”

    Freshman guard Robert O. Wright III earned his first Big 12 start in place of senior guard Jayden Nunn, who came off the bench and scored eight points on 3-for-7 from the floor. In the new role, Wright scored six points on 3-of-8 shooting with eight assists and a career-high five steals.

    “We just wanted to see if we could get out to a different start,” Drew said. “At the end of the day, we look at it like there’s six starters and Nunn is a big contributor for us. We’ve got 100% confidence and trust in him.”

    The freezing Central Texas temperatures made their way inside as both teams combined to shoot 3-of-10 prior to the first media timeout. Wright and fifth-year forward Norchad Omier pushed the Bears past the cold-shooting start and crafted a 7-0 run finished off by Nunn drilling a wing 3-pointer to take a 12-6 lead with 13:50 in the first half. Omier led the Bears with 20 points on 6-for-11 shooting with five rebounds and two blocks.

    Fifth-year forward Jalen Celestine returned to the lineup after missing the last four games due to an ankle injury. In his first action of 2025, Celestine quickly made his presence felt with a 3-pointer to answer a TCU triple on the prior possession.

    “It was great [having Jalen back], especially the first half. I thought he gave us a really good lift. And obviously, he’s still coming back and limited, but getting him back really does help,” Drew said.

    The green and gold went without a field goal for the ensuing 3:30, forcing Drew to call timeout with the Bears up 16-13 with 8:59 on the clock. Freshman guard VJ Edgecombe snapped the scoreless streak with a corner 3-pointer off a cross-court pass by Omier out of the break to put Baylor back on track.

    The freshman’s 3-pointer was the start of a 10-2 run for the Bears, capped off by Celestine’s second 3-pointer of the day and a steal and score dunk for Edgecombe. The high-flying dunk forced TCU head coach Jamie Dixon to call timeout, trailing 26-17 with 7:11 left in the half.

    Edgecombe finished with 18 points, going 6-of-16 from the field and adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

    Wenzel completed a four-point play as he sunk a corner three while being poked in the eye by fifth-year guard Jeremy Roach out of the timeout. Roach followed up his miscue with a 3-pointer and jumper to give the Bears a 37-26 lead with 1:31 in the half. Roach was the final of three Baylor players in double figures with 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting and two steals.

    TCU sophomore guard Vasean Alletee gave the Horned Frogs a bump heading into halftime as he connected on a deep wing 3-pointer before the buzzer to cut Baylor’s lead to 39-32.

    The green and gold traded baskets out of halftime, but TCU started taking over on the glass, leading to a 7-0 run to bring the game within three, 48-45 with 14:54 on the clock. Junior center Josh Ojianwuna snapped a 3:15 streak without a bucket to increase the lead to 52-45 with 13:29 on the clock.

    The quick Baylor push was met with resistance as Nunn handed the ball to the mouth of the defense, leading to a steal and score for TCU to cap off a 7-0 run and cut Baylor’s lead to 56-54 with under 10 minutes to play. Starting to feel the heat, Drew called timeout and tried to regroup.

    Roach connected on a 3-pointer out of the break, but TCU found its first lead since 6-5 with 15:13 in the first half with a floater to pull the score to 62-61.

    The Horned Frogs built on their rebounding advantage, which fell 41-25 in their favor, and built on the made buckets to seal a 9-0 run and a 67-61 lead with 2:59 left in the game. With 30 seconds remaining, the Bears stared down a six-point deficit and fans started pouring out of Foster Pavilion.

    “I’m going to be honest, they played harder than us,” Edgecombe said. “In the last 10 minutes, they just played hard on us. It’s simple. It ain’t no X’s and O’s, no execution or anything like that. They just played harder than us. On the glass, in the paint, everywhere.”

    But Edgecombe gave the green and gold life after being fouled on a 3-pointer, which led to three made free throws and a three-point deficit. Baylor went into a full-court press, and before TCU could find an open pass, Roach was drilled in the head by the shoulder of a Horned Frog, and whistles blew.

    Roach laid on the court for an extended period of time before being helped to the locker room, all the while, Drew was drawing up an equalizing play. On the inbounds pass, Nunn broke free thanks to a screen by Ojianwuna and drilled the uncontested triple. The game was tied 71-71 with 25 seconds left.

    “I had no emotion. I had no emotion because I knew the game was supposed to be over,” Edgecombe said. “It shouldn’t have even been at that point. But, you know, J-Nunn made a big shot. The only thing we had to do was come down and get a stop. We didn’t execute that. Gave up a shot, and that was the outcome of the game.”
    While the Pavilion erupted, TCU called timeout and drew up one final play. Wright played sticky on-ball defense at the top of the key, but a missed assignment on the wing left Wenzel wide open in the corner to hand TCU the 74-71 win.

    “We ended up over-rotating instead of staying solid. And because of that, we left the best shooter, in my opinion, with a wide-open shot,” Drew said. “They would have been stumbling, taking that tough shot with the ballhandler, that’s more of how we envisioned it.”

    The Bears will be back in action against Kansas State (7-10, 1-5 Big 12) at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Foster Pavilion. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

    Baylor men’s basketball Brendan Wenzel Jalen Celestine Jayden Nunn Jeremy Roach Josh Ojianwuna Norchad Omier Robert O. Wright III Scott Drew TCU Horned Frogs VJ Edgecombe
    Foster Nicholas

    Foster Nicholas is a senior Broadcast Journalism major from Parker, Colorado. He enjoys doing play-by-play and broadcasting different sporting events across campus. After graduating, he hopes to pursue his hobbies and enjoy slightly more free time.

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