RayJ Dennis scored 17 points and fab freshman Ja'Kobe Walter added 15 as No. 6 Baylor played its best over the final eight minutes in a 78-60 win over visiting Seton Hall on Tuesday in a Big East-Big 12 Battle game in Waco, Texas.
The Bears (9-0) led by 10 points at halftime but by only three with 13:15 left in the game after a 7-0 run by Seton Hall.
Baylor responded with a decisive 8-0 surge, which consisted of two 3-pointers and Josh Ojianwuna's dunk with 11:13 remaining. Minutes later, a 12-2 run by the Bears ended with a layup by Dennis and an 18-point lead that all but finished off Seton Hall (5-3).
Yves Missi added 13 points and eight rebounds for Baylor, and Langston Love had 11 points off the bench.
Kadary Richmond led all scorers with 18 points for Seton Hall, which has dropped three of its past four games. Dre Davis and Jaden Bediako added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Pirates.
After a back-and-forth initial four minutes, the Pirates were within 10-9 when Richmond hit a 3-pointer. Baylor reeled off a 13-4 run, capped by a layup by Caleb Lohner, to push the Bears' advantage to 23-13 at the 11:40 mark of the first half.
The Bears expanded their advantage to 13 points on a Missi dunk with 8:03 to play in the half, and then to 36-22 when Dennis canned a 3-pointer with 4:04 left before halftime.
Seton Hall got back in the game as Bediako netted a pair of jumpers around a 3-pointer from Dylan Addae-Wusu to climb to within 39-32 with 54 seconds in the half.
But Baylor had the final possession and Dennis found Love with a cross-court pass, and Love poured in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to grant the Bears a 42-32 lead at the break.
Richmond led all scorers in the half with 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Dennis paced Baylor with 10 points as the Bears outshot the visitors 53.3 percent to 40 percent from the floor before halftime.
The Pirates used another 7-0 run beginning at the 16:04 mark of the second half to draw to within 50-47 after two free throws by Elijah Hutchins-Everett with 13:15 to play.
--Field Level Media
Seton Hall | Baylor | |
Kadary Richmond 18 | Scoring | RayJ Dennis 17 |
Kadary Richmond 6 | Assists | RayJ Dennis 7 |
Elijah Hutchins-Everett 7 | Rebounds | Yves Missi 8 |
David Tubek 3 | Free Throws Made | RayJ Dennis 4 |
Kadary Richmond 3 | Steals | Jalen Bridges 1 |
Jaden Bediako 4 | Blocks | Jalen Bridges 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Seton Hall | 60 | 42.6 | 4-13 | 10-11 | 13 | 26 | 4 | 7 | 11 |
Baylor | 78 | 50.9 | 10-22 | 12-15 | 17 | 28 | 6 | 5 | 12 |