Jeremy Roach had chances to end Thursday's game against 22nd-ranked St. John's much earlier, missing the front end of a one-and-one with 17.6 seconds left in regulation and then shooting an air ball from just past the free throw line at the end of the first overtime.
But this time, the third time really was the charm.
After Zuby Ejiofor missed a pair of free throws that could have extended the lead, Norchad Omier grabbed the rebound and threw a quick outlet to Roach, who pulled up on the right wing and nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that lifted 13th-ranked Baylor (4-1) to a heart-stopping 99-98 win in double-overtime in the opening game of the Baha Mar Hoops Bahama Championship.
"Jeremy Roach is a big-time player," Baylor coach Scott Drew said of Roach, the Duke transfer, who was one of Baylor's six double-figure scorers with 20 points. "He's a winner, he makes plays. . . . Make or miss, proud that we battled back to have that chance, because when it was four or six, whatever it was, we could have gone away."
The Bears had a lot of chances to go away in this one, falling behind by 18 in the first half and taking its first lead with less than three minutes left in regulation. But unlike the season opener at Gonzaga, when a 19-point halftime deficit turned into a 38-point blowout loss, Baylor kept fighting till the very end and got its just rewards.
"We didn't want to splinter," Roach said. "We've already been battle-tested. We knew that if we could just get some stops and get it down to seven by the first media in the second half, we were going to be fine. All of us just came together, everybody bought in. I think that's the biggest thing. Give credit to the guys, give credit to the coaches. This was a big-time win."
After the missed opportunities in regulation and the first overtime, Baylor fell behind 97-92 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Aaron Scott and Simeon Witcher. But St. John's (4-1) left the door open by missing three free throws of their own, including the two by Ejiofor with 4.1 seconds left.
St. John's coach Rick Pitino said it was "highly unethical" that the referees reviewed the previous play to "ice my free throw shooter."
"The referees should never let that happen," Pitino said. "I don't know what to say. The referees didn't do a very good job tonight. Icing my free throw at the end was totally unethical. You can't do something like that. . . . I don't like it, but that's not the reason we lost."
The reason the Red Storm lost is because they couldn't stop the Bears from outside the 3-point arc. Baylor was 15-of-29 from 3-point range, including 10-of-18 in the second half and two overtime periods.
Freshman Rob Wright and Cal transfer Jalen Celestine were both 4-of-5 from 3-point range and scored 17 and 14 points, respectively.
St. John's also struggled keeping Baylor off the offensive glass, giving up 22 points on 16 offensive boards.
"I credit our guys for getting 16 offensive rebounds and finding a way to get second-chance points," Drew said, "because we obviously didn't shoot it as well. And from the free throw line (14-of-23), the irony is that we do free throws at the end of the shoot-around, and both ends were perfect. Nobody missed. And we shoot 60% in the game. Free throw shooting, I'm telling you, you can't coach it."
Trailing 98-93 after Deivon Smith made one of two free throws with 18.7 seconds left, the Bears got back in it when freshman VJ Edgecombe knocked down a 3-pointer that made it a two-point game with 6.5 seconds left.
Fouled on the inbounds by Jayden Nunn, the 6-foot-9 Ejiofor had a chance to put the Red Storm up by four. But the former Kansas signee missed both free throws, leaving the door open for Roach's buzzer-beating game-winner.
Roach said he was thinking "just closure" after his two earlier failed opportunities. "My teammates had my back," he said, they had confidence in me. And I just wanted to make a play."
Clamping down on defense, St. John's scored the first seven points of the game and went up 34-19 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Scott and Brady Dunlap. The Red Storm extended the lead to 39-21 on a 3-pointer by RJ Louis and an Ejiofor dunk off a turnover by VJ Edgecombe.
Baylor pulled back within 44-30 by intermission on a Celestine 3-pointer and whittled it down to single digits on a three-point play by Omier, who recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Nunn hit a baseline jumper that gave the Bears their first lead of the game, 74-73, with 2:41 left in regulation. Roach knocked down a 3-pointer a minute later, extending the lead to 77-74, but Kadary Richmond hit a floater in the lane to send the game into overtime.
After Baylor went up by five in OT on an Edgecombe dunk off a Nunn steal, Richmond tied it up with a driving layup and three free throws in the last 1:36 of the period.
St. John's had five double-figure scorers, led by Ejiofor and Scott with 22 and 20 points, respectively and Luis with 16 points. Nunn had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Bears, while Edgecombe overcame a shaky start and rough shooting night (4-for-15) to finish with 10 points, four rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocks.
"One thing I know is, you can't underestimate the heart of a champion," Drew said, "and our guys will be ready tomorrow."
Advancing to the final of the two-day tournament at the Baha Mar Resort, Baylor will face 11th-ranked Tennessee (5-0) in its fourth ranked matchup at 8:30 p.m. CT Friday. The Vols outscored Virginia, 42-21, in the second half of the late game to pull away for a 64-42 win.
St. John's will face Virginia (3-1) in the consolation game at 6 p.m., with both games broadcast by CBS Sports Network.
