By Zack Cziryak
The Seton Hall Pirates faded down the stretch against the #6 ranked Baylor Bears Tuesday night in Waco, Texas, falling by a score of 78-60.
The Bears ripped off separate 8-0 runs in the second half to pull away after a 7-0 Pirate run cut the lead to 50-47, the smallest deficit since the first media timeout, early in the second half. Baylor would respond to that run with the first of those 8-0 runs as RayJ Dennis and Ja’Kobe Walter hit back-to-back threes off baseline set plays that reenergized a sleeping home crowd af the Ferrell Center.
The second of two Dre Davis three-pointers assisted by Kadary Richmond would cut the score to 60-52 before the second of those 8-0 Baylor runs would push the lead to its then biggest of the night at 68-52.
Richmond led the Pirates with 18 points on 8-13 shooting while tallying 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Jaden Bediako notched 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks and Davis rounded out the team’s double-digit scorers with 12 points to go along with 4 rebounds.
Dennis and Walter led Baylor with 17 and 15 points, respectively, while freshman center Yves Missi finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds and Langston Love came off the bench to add 11 points.
Baylor improved to 9-0 by shooting 50.9% from the field, including 10-22 from beyond the arc, and assisting on 17 of 25 made field goals. The Pirates meanwhile shot just 42.6% from the floor and 30.8% from three-point land.
The Pirates traded baskets with the Bears early to maintain a 10-9 deficit heading into the first media timeout before an 18-6 Baylor run over the ensuing 8 minutes capped by a long alley-oop to Missi led to a 28-15 score by the under eight-minute timeout.
The Pirates forced nine first-half Baylor turnovers to only four of their own to keep the game within striking distance while being outrebounded 20-12 in the opening frame. Both statistics came into balance as Seton Hall ultimately turned the ball over 11 times to Baylor’s 12 while cutting the rebounding deficit to 28-31.
A momentum swinging sequence closed out the first half when Dylan Addae-Wusu was called for an offensive foul trying to race up the sideline after corralling a loose ball with less than 20 seconds left. A drive and kick on the last play resulted in Love sinking an open corner three, the Bears’ eighth of the half, that would punctuate a 7-0 Pirate run and extend Baylor’s lead to 42-32 heading into the break.
The loss drops Seton Hall 5-3 on the season, including 0-3 against high-major competition, with a home tilt against in-state rival Rutgers in the Garden State Hardwood Classic scheduled for Dec. 9.
