Jayden Nunn scored 16 points and Norchad Omier added 15 points and 12 rebounds as No. 8 Baylor beat No. 16 Arkansas 72-67 on a neutral court in Dallas on Saturday night.
Jeremy Roach added 13 points, V.J. Edgecombe had 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Robert Wright added 10 points for the Bears (1-1).
Adou Thiero scored a game-high 24 points with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while Boogie Fland added 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Razorbacks (1-1)
Arkansas never led but tied it three times. Fland drilled a deep 3-pointer with 22.8 seconds left to cut the Baylor lead to 70-67.
But Edgecombe sank two free throws with 14.9 seconds left to push the Baylor advantage to a two-possession game.
Baylor took its largest first-half lead on a fastbreak, alley-oop dunk by Josh Ojianwuna for a 26-15 lead.
Baylor built its lead to 33-22, but Arkansas used a 9-0 run as it battled back with a full-court press. A Bears turnover and a Fland 3-pointer cut the deficit to 33-31.
A 9-2 run to close the half, capped by Roach’s trey from the top of the key gave, Baylor a 42-33 halftime lead.
A jumper by Arkansas’ D.J. Wagner (eight points) tied the game at 44-all less than four minutes into the second half. It was the only time the Razorbacks tied the game after the break.
Baylor again responded with a run, this time a 14-4 rally, to build a 58-48 lead on a fastbreak jumper by Wright.
A 3-pointer by Jalen Celestine gave Baylor its largest lead at 61-50 with 11:18 left in the second half.
Fland’s defensive rebound and outlet pass led to a fastbreak, two-hand jam by Thiero that brought Arkansas to within 63-60 with 6:06 left.
–Field Level Media
