RayJ Dennis pushes No. 13 Baylor past Florida 95-91

Field Level Media|published: Fri 24th November, 20:09 2023

Nov 24, 2023; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Florida Gators guard Zyon Pullin (0) and Baylor Bears guard Miro Little (1) fight for a loose ball in the first half at Barclay Center. credits: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

RayJ Dennis scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half to carry No. 13 Baylor past Florida 95-91 to win the NIT Season Tip-Off championship on Friday at New York.

Dennis made 10 of 17 shots from the floor and added eight assists with three steals in the game at Brooklyn. Jalen Bridges scored 23 points, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range for Baylor (6-0), which went 14 of 25 (56.0 percent) from long range, well above its 37-percent average entering the game.

The Bears broke a 61-61 tie with back-to-back 3-pointers from Tchatchoua Tchamwa and Bridges then held the lead the rest of the way.

The Gators' Walter Clayton Jr. got the lead down to three at 72-69 on a jumper with 7:13 remaining, but Baylor twice pushed the lead to eight. Florida hung around despite shooting just 40 percent in the second half, including 1 of 11 immediately after halftime.

Riley Kugel led Florida (4-2) with 25 points and nine rebounds and Zyon Pullin added 17 points.

The Gators played without 7-1 center Micah Handlogten, who injured his ankle early in a win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Handlogten is averaging 8.0 points and 6.8 rebounds.

Langston Love added 16 points and Ja'Kobe Walter had 11 for the Bears, who shot 55.2 percent in the second half and 51.7 percent for the game.

Tyrese Samuel chipped in 18 points, six rebounds and two steals, and Clayton scored 11 but shot only 3 of 12 for the Gators, who finished at 44.9 percent for the game.

Baylor led 38-27 with 4:58 remaining in the first half made only one of its final five shots before the break and committed five turnovers.

Florida capitalized by hitting 6 of 8 shots to close the half on a 14-3 run to tie the game 41-41 at the break. Will Richard scored five points in the burst, and Pullin added four.

Pullin led the Gators with 11 in the half. Bridges made 4 of 5 shots from the field to score 12 to top the Bears, and Walter added 11. Florida shot 51.7 percent, while Baylor hit 48.3 percent, including 8 of 14 from long range.

—Field Level Media

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