Freshmen Lead No. 13 Bears Past Beavers, 88-72

NEW YORK — The No. 13 Baylor Men’s Basketball team (5-0) powered past the Oregon State Beavers (3-2) in the opening game of the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn by a score of 88-72. 

Freshmen Ja’kobe Walter and Yves Missi led the way with the guard leading all scorers with 24 and the center earning a first-career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Jalen Bridges also had a solid night with 14 points.

The Bears played a very controlled and even first half with Walter leading the way. The true freshman netted 12 of his 24 points in the first frame. This included a four-point play to cap a personal 7-0 run at the end of the half.

Yves Missi was also impressive early, setting the tone with six points and eight rebounds in 12 minutes before halftime.

After jumping out to a 12-4 lead, the Bears kept grinding and grew it to 23-12 before heading to the locker room with the score sitting at 44-26.

In the second half, the Bears never let the lead dip below 12 points and grew it to as much as 19 at 57-38 with 15:02 to play.

While the Bears shot well — 52% from the field and 39% from three — turnovers and points generated from them were a big key to the team’s success.

Baylor forced 14 turnovers and scored 25 points off of them while giving up just seven and seven.

The green and gold also continued to place prominence on getting into the paint, scoring 52 of their 88 from the lane. 

Now the Bears can go enjoy a nice Thanksgiving as a team as they prepare for the winner of tonight's next game, Florida vs. Pittsburgh. 

The winner between those two teams — ranked 35th and 40th respectively in KenPom as of writing — will play Baylor on Friday at 4:30 PM CST in the championship game. The broadcast is slated to be on either ESPN or ESPN 2.