No. 18 Bears Can Cornell 98-79 to Open Foster Pavilion

WACO, Texas — The No. 18 Baylor Men’s Basketball team (11-2) opened their brand new arena, the Foster Pavilion, to a raucous crowd and entertaining win over the visiting Cornell Big Red (10-3) by a score of 98-79.

Freshman star Ja’Kobe Walter led all scorers with 23 points while grabbing nine rebounds. His four triples were key to the Bears growing a second-half lead.

That lead was seriously threatened by a 15-0 run for Cornell to cut the 22-point deficit to just seven with 10:04 to play. But Walter Answered with another triple and the Bears grew the lead all the way back plus one point before settling to the final margin of 19.

The rapid pace that Cornell tried to force on the game with full-court pressure and effective Princeton offense occasionally got to the green and gold. However, Baylor limited themselves to 10 turnovers and forced the Big Red into 12 of their own.

Another key for the Bears’ victory was hot three-point shooting. In a new arena with limited practice time against the new backdrop and with new lights, Scott Drew’s squad was nails. They shot 14-for-31 from downtown and a great 55% from the field overall.

Yves Missi did great work inside, netting 16 points. RayJ Dennis also had a good outing with 18 points and six assists.

With the new arena officially opened, the Bears now go back on the road to historic Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma for their Big 12 opener against Oklahoma State on Saturday. That game tips off at 2 PM and will be available on ESPN+.