Jalen Celestine had 20 points and prized freshman VJ Edgecombe scored 17 points as host No. 12 Baylor overcame a dominant first half to beat Tarleton St. 104-41 on Sunday night in Waco, Texas, for its third straight win.
Jeremy Roach hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for the Bears (3-1), who went 9 of 13 from beyond the arc in the first half and scored 29 points off 17 Tarleton turnovers to lead 56-13. to break. Robert Wright had 12 points and nine assists in the win.
Baylor, which bounced back from a season-opening 101-63 loss to then-No. 6 Gonzaga went 15-32 from distance on the night after going 14-32 in Tuesday’s 104-67 win over Sam Houston.
Tarleton (1-4), coached by former Texas A&M and Kentucky boss Billy Gillispie, played without six players due to injury. The Texans attempted several field goals and had a turnover before halftime and entered the break shooting 29.4 percent from the floor.
Joseph Martinez finished with 11 points for Tarleton, which dropped 46 of its points on 28 rebounds.
The visiting team trailed 12–7 when Baylor took control with a 17–0 run in the first half. Celestine had five points during that spurt, and Edgecombe scored the final five points before Jordan Mizell hit a jumper for the Texans with 10:33 remaining in the half.
Those were the only Tarleton points during 10:10 of the opening period, which Baylor closed out with a 17–0 spurt. A fastbreak alley-oop dunk by potential lottery-pick Edgecombe from Roach highlighted the attack and made it 48–13 with 2:32 remaining before halftime.
The run extended to 19-0 on Jaden Nunn’s jumper early in the second half. Nunn finished with 11 points and passed 1,000 points for his career.
Matt Crause ended the scoring drought for Tarleton less than a minute into the second half, but the good times continued for Baylor. Celestine’s fourth 3-pointer pushed the lead to 67–25 and Edgecombe electrified the home crowd with a one-handed jam.
–Field Level Media
