NEW YORK (AP) — Ja’Kobe Walter scored 24 points and fellow freshman Yves Missi posted his first career double-double Wednesday night as No. 13 Baylor beat Oregon State 88-72 in the opening game of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center.
Baylor (5-0) led the entire way and will face the winner of the Florida-Pittsburgh nightcap in the championship game Friday evening.
The 7-foot Missi had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Jalen Bridges added 14 points for the Bears.
“We want the other team to work for everything for the whole 40 minutes,” Bridges said. “We want them to leave the gym feeling like they don’t want to play Baylor again. I feel like we did a great job in the first half of doing that.”
Dexter Akanno scored 16 for the Beavers (3-2). Jordan Pope had 13, DaJohn Craig added 12 and KC Ibekwe 10.
“That’s as good a test as we’re going to see this early in the season,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. “Disappointed with our start. I think we got caught up in the moment a little bit.”
The Bears began taking control early in the first half with an 8-0 run that extended their lead to 15-4. Oregon State got within nine three times, the last at 25-16, but endured five straight empty trips during a 6-0 surge by Baylor.
The Beavers closed to 37-26 on a 3-pointer by Craig with 1:48 left, but Walter ended the half on a 7-0 run that he capped by converting a four-point play with 42 seconds left to give Baylor its biggest lead of the first.
Akanno scored six points as Oregon State began the second period with a 12-6 run, but Baylor coach Scott Drew called a timeout with 17:04 left and the Bears scored the next seven points.
“Its hard to get multiple stops against them,” Tinkle said. “They’re so good at spacing the floor. They’ve got guys that can really get downhill. They always have a presence at the rim and then shooters licking their chops out on the wing.”
The Beavers got no closer than 13 the rest of the way, though they outscored Baylor 46-44 while shooting 63% (17 of 27) over the final 20 minutes.
“First half was good on both ends,” Drew said. “Second half, our defense was not where we needed it to be. That’s the only downer of the game.”
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: Continued to thrive inside the 3-point line by shooting 57.8% (26 of 45) on 2-point field goal attempts.
Oregon State: Squandered chances to establish some momentum by turning the ball over on its first possession following each of the first four timeouts in the first half. The Beavers finished with 14 turnovers, leading to 25 points for Baylor.
UP NEXT
Baylor: Looks to win its seventh regular-season tournament under Drew. Four have come since 2016.
Oregon State: Will play the Florida-Pittsburgh loser in the third-place game Friday afternoon.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
