Walter boosts No. 12 Baylor over West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Freshman Ja'Kobe Walter scored 23 points to lead six Baylor players in double figures and the 12th-ranked Bears beat West Virginia 94-81 on Saturday night.

Jayden Nunn added 20 points, RayJ Dennis had 18 points and eight assist and Yves Missi scored 13 for Baylor (19-6, 8-4 Big 12), which has won five of its last six.

After living in the paint early in the game, Baylor put on an impressive outside shooting display after halftime. There was little West Virginia could do to stop Walter and Nunn.

Nunn sank three 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half against the Mountaineers, then hit another for Baylor’s largest lead, 71-49, with 10:50 remaining. West Virginia, which has both the Big 12's worst scoring offense and defense, got no closer than nine points the rest of the game.

Nunn finished with five 3-pointers after hitting six 3-pointers and scoring a season-high 27 points against No. 25 Oklahoma on Tuesday night. Walter made four against West Virginia.

RaeQuan Battle scored 25 points and Jesse Edwards had 21 points and nine rebounds for West Virginia (8-17, 3-9).

Baylor had 22 points in the paint in the first half with the help of six layups and five dunks. The Bears scored nine points off four West Virginia turnovers in less than a three-minute span early to surge ahead for good.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Baylor could move up in the AP Top 25 poll after a 2-0 week.

BIG PICTURE

Baylor: West Virginia had the chance to significantly close the gap after Missi went to the bench with his third foul in the first half. But Josh Ojianwuna was solid in his place. Ojianwuna’s second dunk gave the Bears their largest lead of the half, 37-26, and they were never really threatened after that. Ojianwuna finished with all 10 of Baylor's bench points.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers have their longest losing streak of the season at four games and fell into a last-place tie with Oklahoma State.

UP NEXT

Baylor continues its long road trip when it plays at BYU on Tuesday night.

West Virginia hosts UCF on Tuesday night.

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