Edgecombe, Omier and Defense Lead Bears Past Bearcats, 68-48

WACO, Texas — The Baylor men’s basketball team (10-4, 2-1 Big 12) rode good defense to an important bounce-back win over the Cincinnati Bearcats (10-4, 0-3 Big 12) by a score of 68-48.

VJ Edgecombe (Fr.) and Norchad Omier (5th) both led Baylor in scoring with 18 points. Omier earned a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds, while Edgecombe electrified the crowd with another high-flying dunk.

The Bears made a point of attacking the rim early on, scoring 22 points in the paint in the first period. That focus, combined with just three first-half turnovers, became a pair of decisive runs to grow a 15-point halftime lead.

Omier and Edgecombe combined an and-one and a triple, respectively, to create the initial separation of 17-9. Soon after, four bears contributed buckets for a kill shot 9-0 run, making the score 31-19 late in the first half.

The Bears kept the defensive focus in the second half, growing the lead to 21 points with a 10-1 run highlighted by an Edgecombe breakaway midway through the period.

By the end of the forty minutes, the Bears outscored the Bearcats 40-16 while out-shooting the visitors 50% to 35% from the field.

Starting center Joshua Ojianwuna (Jr.) was approaching a double-double with eight points and seven boards before his night ended with what appeared to be a tweaked ankle. Before leaving the floor, Ojianwuna scored one last dunk to get to double-figure scoring.

One other player that head coach Scott Drew made sure to praise was freshman forward Jason Asemota. The youngster gave the Bears “huge, huge minutes,” and Coach Drew was very proud that Asemota was focusing on how to contribute good minutes instead of focusing on whether he scored or not. The forward joined Edgecombe at a +18 plus-minus to lead the Bears.

Now, the Bears will focus especially on health and recovery before turning their attention to a Saturday matchup with Arizona State. The Sun Devils face Kansas in Lawrence on Wednesday night before they return to Tempe to host Baylor. The Bears vs. Sun Devils matchup is set to tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.