Setting a Baylor record for a freshman in his debut, Walter scored 28 points, hitting four 3-pointers and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
But it was fellow newcomers Jayden Nunn, RayJ Dennis and Yves Missi that provided all the scoring in a late 11-0 run as the 20th-ranked Bears (1-0) erased a nine-point halftime deficit to knock off the Auburn Tigers, 88-82, Tuesday night in the season opener at the Sanford Pentagon.
"They are who I thought they were," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "I enjoy coaching them. Practice, we know what they're capable of. Now, the challenge is just blending everybody and getting them to get better, because it's a race to the end of the season. It's not where you start, it's how you finish."
Walter's start could not have been much better. The Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year and one of the top-rated recruits in the country, the 6-foot-5 guard from McKinney, Texas, shot 7-of-13 overall and 4-for-7 from 3-point range, adding six rebounds.
"First of all, this kind of night is what he's capable of," Drew said. "His intangibles, the man he is far exceeds anything he can do on the court. God has given him a great platform, and he does a tremendous job honoring it. I couldn't be more proud of him. It's a blessing to be able to coach him."
While Walter grabbed the spotlight for most of the night, he didn't score in the last 7 ½ minutes and the Bears still trailed by six when Drew called a timeout with 5:56 left on the clock. Coming out of the timeout, the 7-foot Missi scored off an alley-oop pass from Nunn and kicked off a closing 19-7 run.
Missi's game-changing play came right after Dennis tied it at 77-77 on a knock-down 3-pointer from the top of the key. As the Tigers were working the ball up the court, Missi stole the ball from Denver Jones near midcourt and took it all the way in for a dunk that gave the Bears their first lead since about that eight-minute mark in the first half.
"Yves is a freak," Walter said. "It's not crazy to us. Since summer, he's been doing that. Him doing that, we just expect that every game out of him. That was a very big play. That's what we needed to get us going. Just a big-time play for Yves. He showed up when we needed him to."
That steal and dunk by Missi was part of 11 unanswered points by the Bears, with Missi adding two free throws and then Dennis capping it with a second-chance jumper in the lane that made it an 83-77 game with 1:25 to play.
The Tigers didn't go away quietly, making it a one-possession game, 82-79, when Jones knocked down a deep three-pointer with 19.1 seconds left. But Dennis iced it with a pair of free throws down the stretch.
"This is a win that helps you come March," Drew said. "It's a great first game, because you get exposed quick. A lot of the heart we had had, maybe our culture of JOY (Jesus, Others, Yourself). Not everybody played their best game, but they all stuck together and found a way."
In a matchup of deep and talented rosters, Baylor had five players score in double figures. Dennis chipped in with 15 points, Jalen Bridges had 13 points and eight boards and Missi and Langston Love had 10 points apiece.
"Our best teams, we've always had players that in practice would make Sports Center top-10 plays," Drew said. "(Missi) gives you that possibility more often than not. I'm just glad everyone else is getting to see what we see, because he does block a lot of shots and dunks on people."
Auburn, a Final Four team four years ago, had three double-figure scorers, led by freshman Aden Holloway with 19 points and six assists. Johni Broome had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 27.3 seconds left, while K.D. Johnson scored eight of his 10 points in the second half.
"Come Selection Sunday, games like this matter," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "We didn't do what we came here to do. We're a better team than we played tonight."
The Tigers closed the first half outscoring the Bears 25-12 over the last 10 minutes, taking a 43-34 halftime lead.
Walter, who already had 13 points at the half, scored six unanswered points in the first 40 seconds of the second half and tallied 11 of Baylor's first 13 points to help the Bears pull within four, 51-47.
"My teammates just encouraged me," Walter said. "It's easy when you just play for the man above. It makes it simple. There's nothing to worry about, there's nothing to fear."
Baylor returns home to host three games in a six-day stretch, facing John Brown in the "Future Bears" game at 11 a.m. Thursday, Gardner-Webb at 4 p.m. Sunday and Kansas City at 9 p.m. next Tuesday, Nov. 14.
