By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor, Braden Murray | LTVN Sports Director
Baylor men’s basketball walked off the court at the Foster Pavilion to roaring applause and singing as John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” blasted over the speakers following the Bears’ 74-71 win over West Virginia in overtime.
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The green and gold failed to make a field goal in the final five minutes but knocked down 9-of-12 free throws to seal the victory.
“We took better care of the ball, did a great job at the free throw line,” head coach Scott Drew said. “We had some really good looks tonight and just couldn’t get the threes to fall.”
Flashing a new-look starting lineup, four of Baylor’s (16-9, 8-6 Big 12) five starters finished in double figures. Redshirt junior guard Langston Love and fifth-year forward Norchad Omier led the charge with 17 points each, while freshman guard Robert O. Wright III added 16.
“These are just the games that you live for,” Love said. “We just thank God for the opportunity just being here, and God couldn’t give us a better chance to glorify Him in overtime. Just going into overtime, he was just telling us just to keep pushing, keep fighting. He knew we were tired, but we were built for this.”
In his first start wearing green and gold, fifth-year Jalen Celestine was the only other Bear in double figures with 10 points. The 6-foot-7 forward added height to a rotation without a center after losing junior Josh Ojianwuna to a season-ending injury. The added size allowed Drew to focus the team’s defensive efforts on a zone press and a 1-3-1 zone.
“We like positive routines and we’ve got to win,” Drew said. “We want to keep that rolling.”
West Virginia (15-10, 6-8 Big 12) struggled to break Baylor’s zone defense early, shooting just 32% in the first half. The Mountaineers suffered three stretches of three minutes or more without a field goal and only had four made baskets 12 minutes into the game.
The Bears hit their stride toward the end of the half, going on a 9-0 run while holding the Mountaineers scoreless for just under five minutes. Freshman wing VJ Edgecombe scored his first points on an and-1 fadeaway floater to give the Bears a 26-21 lead with 2:42 left in the half. Soon after, the Foster Pavilion erupted as Omier stuffed a one-handed poster and drilled two free throws on the other end to give the green and gold a nine-point lead. Omier finished with a double-double, adding 10 rebounds to his 17 points.
With 45 seconds left in the first half, senior Mountaineer guard Javon Small knocked down a floater and forced Baylor into a 10-second violation. He dropped in one final layup before the buzzer, cutting the deficit to 30-25 at halftime. Small led West Virginia with 22 points on 7-for-16 shooting and six assists.
West Virginia built on the momentum at the end of the second half and tied the game with a 7-2 run just two minutes into the second half. The next time down the court, the Mountaineers converted a four-point play and took a 36-32 lead with 17:20 remaining.
Trailing by as much as five, senior guard Jayden Nunn pulled the Bears back on track with an and-1 fastbreak layup after the green and gold forced three Mountaineer turnovers in two minutes. The teams battled back and forth, enduring 10 lead changes and 11 ties throughout the game. An 8-0 Mountaineer run chopped down Baylor’s two-possession lead and handed the visitors a 54-52 advantage with 6:13 in the second half.
Wright dropped three layups and Celestine knocked down a 3-pointer in the next five minutes and Love, who finished 12-for-12 from the free throw line, attacked the paint and racked up West Virginia fouls.
“Having Jalen’s 3-point shooting out there is definitely good, it opens up the court. Just a blessing to have almost everybody on the court,” Omier said.
With the game knotted up 65-65 with 30 seconds left, Wright had one final look before the final buzzer. He drained the shot clock before driving with his left hand and a contested layup landed in the arms of a West Virginia defender to signal overtime.
Baylor controlled the tempo in the extra period, limiting West Virginia to 2-of-9 made buckets and only fouled in the final two minutes with a lead of three or more points. After Love and Wright went a combined 7-for-8 from the free throw line in overtime, Omier fouled with the Bears up 74-71, clicking a bounce-back victory for the green and gold.
“I’m just happy that we get to play. Like, we don’t have to play basketball,” Omier said. “We get to play basketball. And it’s just a blessing. So, grinding and getting the right outcome, it always feels so good. So, it’s a blessing to be able to grind.”
The Bears will be back in action at 9 p.m. Monday against No. 13 Arizona (17-8, 11-3 Big 12) at Foster Pavilion. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
