Dennis, No. 13 Bears Outlast Gators 95-91 for NIT Season Tip-Off Crown
NEW YORK — The No. 13 Baylor Men’s Basketball team (6-0) outlasted the Florida Gators (4-2) in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game 95-91.
RayJ Dennis carried the Bears late with clutch buckets on his way to a 24-point, 8-assist player of the game performance.
Jalen Bridges was not far behind Dennis, with 23 points of his own including a 5-for-7 shooting performance from downtown.
Langston Love and Ja’Kobe Walter had 16 and 11 respectively to round out the double-digit scorers for Baylor.
Scott Drew’s Bears have now won five of the last six regular-season tournaments they have played in and earned their third 6-0 start in the last five seasons.
Getting to today’s action, the first half was defined by runs for both teams. The Gators jumped out to a 7-0 lead early forcing a timeout from Scott Drew not even two minutes into the game.
The Bears fought their way back into the game, though. The Big 12 heavyweights put up a 14-1 run to turn a 13-8 deficit into a 22-14 lead. Walter scored seven during the run and Langston Love knocked down a three as well.
The Baylor bench was bouncing with energy and the Bears on the court were hounding the Gators with their defense.
But the Gators kept the game from getting out of hand.
A 7-0 run by Florida made it 27-24. Then after the Bears tried to break away again with a 9-1 run in response, the Gators put together a 12-2 run to cut their deficit to just one.
The teams left the court at the break dead even at 41-41.
The final stretch of the first half for Baylor was defined by missed shots and turnovers. The Bears committed five of their 11 first-half turnovers in the last 4:21 of the period. Those 11 turnovers were turned into 19 points by Florida.
On the bright side for the Bears, they assisted each basket they made in the first half, going 14 for 14.
The second half was defined more by trading buckets and making the most of more overbearing refereeing compared to the first 20 minutes.
Yves Missi was sidelined with his 4th personal foul with 12:33 left in the game and Ja’Kobe Walter similarly was forced to the bench, picking up his 4th foul with 10:15 to go.
Despite losing the two talented freshmen starters, Baylor churned out a 9-point lead with just under four minutes to go. This was in large part thanks to the team’s scorching hot shooting from deep and the offensive orchestration of RayJ Dennis.
The Bears shot 14-for-25 or 56% from three on the day while hitting 52% of their shots in total.
RayJ Dennis, for his part, scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half including a highly impressive stretch in crunch time where he scored on three straight possessions for the Bears.
The Gators made their fair share of buckets down the stretch to keep the game within reach, but free throws from Bridges and Love saw Baylor to the finish line.
With another regular-season tournament trophy in tow, the Bears can now head back to Waco for a weekend of rest and preparation. Their next opponent, Nicholls, comes to the Ferrell Center on Tuesday, November 28th for a 7 PM tip-off (ESPN+).