No. 12 Bears Race Past Tarleton, 104-41
WACO, Texas — The No. 12 Baylor Bears (3-1) rocked the visiting Tarleton Texans 104-41 on Sunday night to send the Green and Gold off to the Bahamas with great momentum.
Six Bears scored ten or more points for the second straight game, this time led by Jalen Celestine with 20 points off the bench.
“Jalen’s gotta rebound better — I’m going to talk to him about that — but his shooting was on fire,” Scott Drew said after the game.
VJ Edgecombe contributed 17 points and three blocks. Jeremy Roach scored 14 while dishing out five assists, but his understudy Robert Wright one-uped the veteran by posting 12 points and 9 dimes. Meanwhile, Jayden Nunn was not far behind with 11 points, and Josh Ojianwuna missed out on a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Knowing that his team would face an aggressive defense, Scott Drew emphasized the importance of a quick start to his team.
“We really wanted to make sure we got off to a fast start and 9-for-13 from three [in the first half] is just what the doctor ordered.”
In fact, the Bears were up 29-7 before 10 minutes were off the clock, with the first half lead getting up to 43 points.
“Anytime you can get separation against a really well-coached team it’s helpful.”
The second half only cemented Baylors domination of the Texas. The lead ballooned to 63 points, the Bears won the rebounding battle 41-18. Eighteen was also the number of offensive rebound the Green and Gold grabbed on the night.
The Baylor defense forced 28 turnovers and made 15 steals and seven blocks.
At the other end, Baylor scored 22 fast break points and dished out 22 assists while coughing up the ball 12 times.
Not to be forgotten in the blow-out: Jason Asemota scored eight electric points in his 11 minutes of play including an and-one and a three back-to-back.
With three good showings in tow, Scott Drew’s squad now prepares to ship off to VJ Edgecombe’s neck of the woods, the Bahamas.
The Bears are set to face Rick Pitino’s St. John’s on Thursday at 6 PM to open the Baha Mar Hoops tournament.
This will be the first time Scott Drew has faced off with Pitino since the memorable Battle for Atlantis Championship in 2016 featuring a 22-point comeback by the Bears.
St. John’s vs. Baylor will be available on the CBS Sports Network.