WACO, Texas (AP) — Ja’Kobe Walter scored 14 points, Jayden Nunn added 12 and No. 20 Baylor ran away from Gardner-Webb for a 77-62 win Sunday.
In a game that featured 16 lead changes over the first 27 minutes, Baylor (3-0) finally took charge in the second half with a 12-2 run that lasted nearly five minutes. That spurt was highlighted by a RayJ Dennis coast-to-coast layup off an Yves Missi block that gave Baylor a 50-48 lead with 13:07 remaining, and the Bears never trailed again.
Baylor won despite not making a 3-point basket (0-for-9) for the first time since a game against Texas Tech in 1990, ending a streak of 1,032 games with at least one. Gardner-Webb didn’t fare much better from beyond the arc, hitting only two of its 17 tries.
Missi, a 7-foot freshman making his first career start, dominated the paint defensively by blocking five shots and altering several others. He finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Missi’s first basket came three seconds into the game, when he won the opening tip to Dennis, then beat the Bulldogs down the floor and caught a pass from Dennis for an alley-oop.
Dennis finished with nine points, ending a 51-game streak of scoring in double figures.
Gardner-Webb (1-2), which was playing its second ranked opponent in three days after an 86-68 road loss to No. 14 Arkansas on Friday, relentlessly pushed the pace and attacked the basket despite Missi’s presence.
Julien Soumaoro led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 16 points and DQ Nicholas had 10.
BIG PICTURE
Gardner-Webb: The Bulldogs didn’t show any weariness from playing two ranked foes on the road over a three-day span. They were often the quicker team to long rebounds and scored several easy baskets by beating the Bears down the floor even after made shots by Baylor. Their problem was they couldn’t get the ball in the basket consistently enough, shooting 37.3% for the game.
Baylor: It took a while, but Baylor’s size finally wore down the smaller Bulldogs. Baylor won thanks in large part to a 25-for-32 effort from the free-throw line and a 47-29 advantage on the boards. The Bears’ offense was often stagnant in the half court, and they finished with only seven assists.
UP NEXT
Gardner-Webb will play three games in as many days in the Atlantic Slam tournament beginning Friday against Weber State.
Baylor will complete a three-game homestand against Kansas City on Tuesday.
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