Baylor Closes Game in Jalen Bridges’ Return to WVU, 83-78

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. ‚— In Jalen Bridges’ return to WVU, Baylor closed the game in the final minutes to defeat West Virginia, 83-78. WVU G Joe Toussaint had a chance to tie the game but his shot did not fall.

Baylor (11-5, 1-3 Big 12) picks up their first win in Big 12 play.

Bridges returned to Morgantown for the first time since transferring to Baylor. The former WVU forward was introduced with a roar of boos throughout the coliseum as he took the floor. Bridges recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Bridges is in his third season playing in college basketball, two with West Virginia (10-6, 0-4 Big 12) and one with Baylor. The Fairmont native played in 61 games for the Mountaineers from 2020-22, starting in 52 of those games. Bridges was a part of the 2021 NCAA Tournament team which he started the second half of the season on. During his sophomore season, Bridges averaged 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 33 games. Bridges entered the transfer portal last offseason, transferring to Baylor in April.

Baylor true freshman Keyonte George could not miss against West Virginia, scoring a game-high 32 points. The former five-star prospect shot 10-of-18 from the field. George knocked down a huge three to extend Baylor’s lead to four with two minutes left.

Tre Mitchell recorded a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 15 rebounds. The Texas transfer couldn’t finish his shots but was getting to the free throw line. Mitchell fouled out with less than four minutes to go in the game.

WVU starting guard Kedrian Johnson hit a pair of free throws to give the Mountaineers their first lead of the game with 12 minutes to go. Baylor lead for the first 28 minutes of the game.

Johnson returned to the court on Wednesday after missing the previous game with a concussion. Johnson sustained the injury during the Oklahoma State game on Jan. 2. Johnson finished with 10 points and six assists before fouling out in the second half.

With the shot clock running down with eight minutes left in the game, WVU G Seth Wilson hit a difficult 3-pointer to give West Virginia a 57-53 lead. Wilson’s three erupted the coliseum crowd in a roar as Baylor head coach Scott Drew called a timeout right after.

Wilson, a sophomore from Ohio, finished with 11 points off the bench.

West Virginia remains 1-of-2 teams left in the Big 12 without a conference win, joining Texas Tech.

West Virginia will travel to Norman, Ok. on Saturday to take on Oklahoma. WVU is 0-2 on the road during Big 12 play and have not won a road conference game since Feb. 2021. Mountaineers and Sooners will tipoff at noon on ESPN2.