Baylor uses second-half run to roll past UCF

Field Level Media|published: Sat 8th February, 16:42 2025

Feb 8, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears guard VJ Edgecombe (7) grabs a rebound against UCF Knights guard Keyshawn Hall (4) during the first half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images

A trio of players led Baylor's big second-half burst in a 91-76 win over visiting UCF in a Big 12 matchup in Waco, Texas, on Saturday afternoon.

Baylor (15-8, 7-5 Big 12) put five scorers in double figures, led by Norchad Omier with 18 points, freshman V.J. Edgecombe with 17 and Langston Love with 16. Those players scored four points each during the Bears' 16-0 burst to turn a 50-45 lead into a rout.

Keyshawn Hall led UCF (13-10, 4-8) with 19 points and eight rebounds despite battling foul trouble. Moustapha Thiam added 18 points, Darius Johnson 12 and Jordan Ivy-Curry 10.

While the Bears welcomed Love back from an ankle injury, they also lost Josh Ojianwuna to an apparent knee injury early in the first half.

Omier also had 12 rebounds, while Jayden Nunn and Jalen Celestine scored 12 points each for Baylor, which saw its lead trimmed to five on a jumper by Hall with just under 16 minutes left in the game.

The Knights then went more than four minutes without scoring, with four missed shots and two turnovers, as the Bears went on their run. Baylor made nine straight shots in a row in one stretch.

The Knights entered having allowed a conference-worst 79.4 points per game, and opponents were making 48.4 percent of their field goals. Baylor exploited that weakness, shooting 53.3 percent.

UCF finished at 44.1 percent from the field.

Love, who had not played since Dec. 31, came off the bench early to score eight points in the first half, including two 3-pointers. He made 48 percent of his shots from deep last season.

Just after Love checked in, however, Ojianwuna left with an apparent injury to his left knee as he rolled to the basket to put up a shot with 15:10 left in first half. He could not put weight on the leg and needed help off the floor.

Baylor went on a 16-2 burst in the first half to turn a four-point deficit into a 37-27 lead with just under three minutes to play. The Bears led 45-36 at halftime.

Nunn led the Bears with 10 points at the break. Johnson scored 12 for the Knights.

--Field Level Media

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