Edgecombe, Bears Complete 12-Point Comeback Against Kansas State, 70-62
WACO, Texas — The Baylor Men’s Basketball team (12-6, 4-3 Big 12) rode the athletic ability and sheer will of VJ Edgecombe to a 70-62 win over the visiting Kansas State Wildcats (7-11, 1-6 Big 12).
Edgecombe scored a career-high 30 points on 8-for-13 shooting and 11 key free throws. He was helped out primarily by Jalen Celestine who knocked down four triples and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
While the first half did not look pretty, the Bears played a very clean game offensively by the numbers turning the ball over just four times and assisting 14 of the Bears’ 21 buckets.
Clean does not mean effective, however, with the Green and Gold shooting just 25% from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Falling behind by as much as ten in the first frame thanks to a 10-0 KSU run, the Bears fought to close it to 30-26 at the halftime horn with threes from Celestine and Norchad Omier.
The Cats went for the kill shot to start the second half, making a 10-2 run. Celestine and Jayden Nunn hit back-to-back threes to steady Baylor before Edgecombe completely took over.
From 11:13 to 3:46 the high-flying freshman scored 19 of Baylor’s 27 points — Celestine had the other eight — as the Bears flipped a 45-38 deficit into a 61-56 lead.
Other notable numbers include offensive rebounds and second-chance points. Baylor won both metrics by slim margins — three more boards and five more points — but games are won by slim margins.
The Bears were also great at getting to the charity stripe tonight, earning 21 free throws and knocking down 17 of them. 19 of those free throws came in the second half.
The offensive shift to improve spacing and help Edgecombe slash to the rim more freely was sorely needed for the Green and Gold. Hopefully, it can be replicated against other defenses for the rest of the season.
For now, the Bears did what they had to do. They ended the skid, but the road to March does not get easier from here. A trip to the mountains to face Utah then BYU comes next.
Baylor plays Utah on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT on ESPN 2 before facing BYU on Tuesday night.