Bridges scores 25 and No. 14 Baylor rallies in 2nd half for an 81-72 win over No. 18 BYU
WACO, Texas (AP) Jalen Bridges felt good and was able to be aggressive, especially with Baylor guards Jayden Nunn and RayJ Dennis getting him the ball.
“Just find me when I'm open, makes life easy for me,” Bridges said. “Also, (BYU) had a bigger guy on me, so I just tried to exploit that a little bit.”
Bridges scored 17 of his season-high 25 points after halftime as the 14th-ranked Bears rallied from a nine-point deficit to beat No. 18 BYU 81-72 on Tuesday night.
“Jalen was huge,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said of the 6-foot-9 forward who was 7-of-14 shooting and 8 of 9 on free throws. “He was going, guys found him. And he was aggressive. Did a great job getting to the free throw line.”
Ja’Kobe Walter added 16 points for the Bears (13-2, 2-0 Big 12) and Langston Love had 15, including a couple of second-half 3-pointers and two free throws with 54 seconds left after BYU coach Mark Pope was called for a technical foul.
Baylor won its first conference game in the new Foster Pavilion, a week after christening the loud building with a 98-79 victory over Cornell.
Drew said Bridges told him: “`This place is so much better than the Ferrell Center.'”
Spencer Johnson and Trevin Knell each had 15 points for BYU (12-3, 0-2), a Big 12 newcomer this season. Dallin Hall scored 13 and Jaxon Robinson had 10.
“The first year at this level of competition, there’s going to be a little bit of regression,” Pope said. “For the next 18 games, we’re playing Top 25 teams. One of the beautiful things about being in this league, in our first year, is we get to kind of figure this out and grow into this. And we well.”
BYU had its largest lead after consecutive 3s by Knell made it 45-36 just over two minutes into the second half. Baylor responded with a 10-0 run, going ahead on Love’s 3-pointer with 14:12 left that began a string of seven lead changes in a span of only two minutes.
The Cougars were ahead after Johnson hit 3s a minute apart before Bridges made a layup to extend the run to eight points in a row for the Bears before Nunn's layup put them ahead to stay at 58-57.
Walter had 12 points at halftime, including a nice basket with 1:01 left for a 32-31 lead. But the standout freshman was quickly whistled for a technical after saying something to the BYU bench.
BYU finished the half on an 8-1 run, with Robinson making both technical free throws and 6-foot-11 center Aly Khalifa hitting a 3 when the Cougars kept possession. Robinson added a three-point play with 1.1 seconds left with a nifty layup and free throw for a 39-33 halftime lead.
BIG PICTURE
BYU: The Cougars were coming off a loss to Cincinnati in their first Big 12 game, when they attempted 46 3-pointers. BYU was 9 of 24 from long range against Baylor.
Baylor: After shooting a season-worst 42.5% from the field in an overtime win at Oklahoma State, the Bears were off target again. They missed six of their first seven shots and finished at 43.1% (25 of 58) only after making more than half their shots following halftime. They were better on 3-pointers, hitting 10 of 23 after going 2 for 15 against the Cowboys.
FAMILIAR FACE
Caleb Lohner, in his second year at Baylor, was part of BYU’s last NCAA Tournament team in 2020-21 when he was one of the West Coast Conference’s top freshman. Lohner played only three minutes and missed his lone shot against the Cougars.
UP NEXT
BYU heads further east to take on fellow Big 12 newcomer UCF on Saturday.
Baylor is home again Saturday night to play Cincinnati, another of the four Big 12 newcomers.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | (Bears gains possession) | |||
19:48 | +3 | Ja'Kobe Walter makes three point jump shot | 0-3 | |
19:41 | Trevin Knell turnover (Jayden Nunn steals) | |||
19:14 | RayJ Dennis misses three point jump shot | |||
19:12 | Noah Waterman defensive rebound | |||
19:03 | Aly Khalifa misses three point jump shot | |||
19:01 | Jayden Nunn defensive rebound | |||
18:53 | Jayden Nunn misses two point jump shot | |||
18:51 | Bears offensive rebound | |||
18:46 | Yves Missi misses two point layup | |||
18:44 | Spencer Johnson defensive rebound | |||
18:33 | Noah Waterman misses three point jump shot | |||
18:31 | Bears defensive rebound | |||
18:12 | Ja'Kobe Walter misses three point jump shot | |||
18:10 | Dallin Hall defensive rebound | |||
18:01 | +2 | Dallin Hall makes two point layup | 2-3 | |
17:33 | Yves Missi misses two point jump shot | |||
17:31 | Noah Waterman defensive rebound | |||
17:26 | RayJ Dennis shooting foul (Spencer Johnson draws the foul) | |||
17:26 | +1 | Spencer Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 3-3 | |
17:26 | +1 | Spencer Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 4-3 | |
17:11 | Jalen Bridges misses two point jump shot | |||
17:09 | Spencer Johnson defensive rebound | |||
17:03 | Spencer Johnson turnover (out of bounds) | |||
16:48 | RayJ Dennis turnover (bad pass) (Noah Waterman steals) | |||
16:37 | Dallin Hall misses three point jump shot | |||
16:35 | Yves Missi defensive rebound | |||
16:25 | +2 | RayJ Dennis makes two point jump shot | 4-5 | |
16:05 | +2 | Trevin Knell makes two point layup (Aly Khalifa assists) | 6-5 | |
15:49 | Trevin Knell personal foul (RayJ Dennis draws the foul) | |||
15:49 | TV timeout | |||
15:33 | Ja'Kobe Walter misses two point jump shot | |||
15:31 | Dallin Hall defensive rebound | |||
15:19 | Jaxson Robinson misses three point jump shot | |||
15:17 | Bears defensive rebound | |||
14:59 | RayJ Dennis misses two point jump shot | |||
14:57 | Bears offensive rebound | |||
14:38 | Langston Love turnover (lost ball) (Jaxson Robinson steals) | |||
14:28 | +2 | Dallin Hall makes two point dunk (Jaxson Robinson assists) | 8-5 | |
14:08 | Ja'Kobe Walter misses three point jump shot | |||
14:06 | Cougars defensive rebound | |||
13:52 | Atiki Ally Atiki offensive foul | |||
13:52 | Atiki Ally Atiki turnover (offensive foul) | |||
13:35 | +2 | RayJ Dennis makes two point jump shot | 8-7 | |
13:35 | Dallin Hall shooting foul (RayJ Dennis draws the foul) | |||
13:35 | +1 | RayJ Dennis makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 8-8 | |
13:29 | +2 | Atiki Ally Atiki makes two point dunk (Richie Saunders assists) | 10-8 | |
13:15 | Jalen Bridges misses three point jump shot | |||
13:13 | Cougars defensive rebound | |||
13:02 | +2 | Richie Saunders makes two point layup | 12-8 | |
12:46 | +3 | Jalen Bridges makes three point jump shot (RayJ Dennis assists) | 12-11 | |
12:16 | Spencer Johnson misses three point jump shot | |||
12:14 | Jalen Bridges defensive rebound | |||
12:00 | Miro Little misses three point jump shot | |||
11:58 | Jaxson Robinson defensive rebound | |||
11:46 | +3 | Jaxson Robinson makes three point jump shot | 15-11 | |
11:21 | RayJ Dennis turnover (bad pass) (Richie Saunders steals) | |||
11:11 | Richie Saunders turnover (lost ball) (RayJ Dennis steals) | |||
11:00 | RayJ Dennis misses two point jump shot | |||
10:58 | Trevin Knell defensive rebound | |||
10:42 | Jalen Bridges personal foul | |||
10:42 | TV timeout | |||
10:42 | Atiki Ally Atiki technical foul | |||
10:42 | Atiki Ally Atiki turnover (offensive foul) | |||
10:42 | +1 | Langston Love makes technical free throw 1 of 2 | 15-12 | |
10:42 | +1 | Langston Love makes technical free throw 2 of 2 | 15-13 | |
10:15 | Langston Love misses two point layup | |||
10:13 | Richie Saunders defensive rebound | |||
10:06 | +2 | Richie Saunders makes two point layup (Dallin Hall assists) | 17-13 | |
9:49 | Jalen Bridges misses three point jump shot | |||
9:47 | Trevin Knell defensive rebound | |||
9:38 | +3 | Trevin Knell makes three point jump shot (Dallin Hall assists) | 20-13 | |
9:14 | Trevin Knell personal foul (Ja'Kobe Walter draws the foul) | |||
9:02 | +2 | Jalen Bridges makes two point jump shot | 20-15 | |
9:01 | Richie Saunders shooting foul (Jalen Bridges draws the foul) | |||
9:01 | +1 | Jalen Bridges makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 20-16 | |
8:49 | +2 | Jaxson Robinson makes two point layup (Aly Khalifa assists) | 22-16 | |
8:29 | +3 | Ja'Kobe Walter makes three point jump shot | 22-19 | |
8:21 | Dallin Hall offensive foul | |||
8:21 | Dallin Hall turnover (offensive foul) | |||
8:05 | +3 | Langston Love makes three point jump shot | 22-22 | |
7:54 | Spencer Johnson misses three point jump shot | |||
7:52 | Jalen Bridges defensive rebound | |||
7:35 | +2 | Ja'Kobe Walter makes two point jump shot | 22-24 | |
7:14 | Spencer Johnson misses two point jump shot | |||
7:12 | Noah Waterman offensive rebound | |||
7:12 | Jaxson Robinson misses three point jump shot | |||
7:12 | Bears defensive rebound | |||
7:12 | TV timeout | |||
7:01 | Jalen Bridges misses two point jump shot | |||
6:59 | Cougars defensive rebound | |||
6:37 | +2 | Fousseyni Traore makes two point hook shot | 24-24 | |
6:14 | Jayden Nunn misses three point jump shot | |||
6:12 | Trevin Knell defensive rebound | |||
6:04 | Jaxson Robinson misses three point jump shot | |||
6:02 | Langston Love defensive rebound | |||
5:52 | +2 | Jayden Nunn makes two point layup (Langston Love assists) | 24-26 | |
5:30 | Yves Missi shooting foul (Fousseyni Traore draws the foul) | |||
5:29 | +1 | Fousseyni Traore makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 25-26 | |
5:29 | +1 | Fousseyni Traore makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-26 | |
5:17 | +2 | Ja'Kobe Walter makes two point jump shot (Jalen Bridges assists) | 26-28 | |
5:01 | Trevin Knell misses three point jump shot | |||
4:59 | Jalen Bridges defensive rebound | |||
4:51 | Fousseyni Traore shooting foul (Jalen Bridges draws the foul) | |||
4:51 | +1 | Jalen Bridges makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-29 | |
4:51 | +1 | Jalen Bridges makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-30 | |
4:32 | Trevin Knell misses two point jump shot | |||
4:30 | Jayden Nunn defensive rebound | |||
4:28 | Noah Waterman personal foul (Jayden Nunn draws the foul) | |||
4:28 | Jayden Nunn misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
4:28 | Richie Saunders defensive rebound | |||
4:11 | Jaxson Robinson misses two point jump shot | |||
4:09 | Jayden Nunn defensive rebound | |||
3:42 | Ja'Kobe Walter misses three point jump shot | |||
3:39 | Josh Ojianwuna personal foul | |||
3:39 | TV timeout | |||
3:25 | Aly Khalifa turnover (bad pass) | |||
3:06 | Richie Saunders blocks Jayden Nunn's two point jump shot | |||
3:04 | Trevin Knell defensive rebound | |||
2:50 | +3 | Spencer Johnson makes three point jump shot (Aly Khalifa assists) | 29-30 | |
2:21 | Jump ball. (Cougars gains possession) | |||
2:21 | Jayden Nunn turnover (lost ball) (Dallin Hall steals) | |||
2:04 | +2 | Spencer Johnson makes two point jump shot | 31-30 | |
1:45 | Langston Love misses two point jump shot | |||
1:37 | Langston Love personal foul | |||
1:14 | Spencer Johnson misses two point jump shot | |||
1:12 | Josh Ojianwuna defensive rebound | |||
1:02 | +2 | Ja'Kobe Walter makes two point jump shot | 31-32 | |
0:58 | Ja'Kobe Walter technical foul | |||
0:58 | +1 | Jaxson Robinson makes technical free throw 1 of 2 | 32-32 | |
0:58 | +1 | Jaxson Robinson makes technical free throw 2 of 2 | 33-32 | |
0:42 | +3 | Aly Khalifa makes three point jump shot (Jaxson Robinson assists) | 36-32 | |
0:11 | Noah Waterman personal foul (RayJ Dennis draws the foul) | |||
0:11 | +1 | RayJ Dennis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 36-33 | |
0:11 | RayJ Dennis misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
0:11 | Noah Waterman defensive rebound | |||
0:01 | +2 | Jaxson Robinson makes two point layup | 38-33 | |
0:01 | Josh Ojianwuna shooting foul (Jaxson Robinson draws the foul) | |||
0:01 | +1 | Jaxson Robinson makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 39-33 | |
0:01 | Caleb Lohner misses three point jump shot | |||
0:00 | Cougars defensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |