By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

Bimini native Valdez “VJ” Edgecombe Jr finally made his collegiate debut with the Baylor Bears last night and is already making rounds on social media for a monster dunk he threw down against the no. 6 Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington.

The no 8 ranked Baylor Bears struggled offensively against the Bulldogs and lost 101-63.

Edgecombe, one of ESPN’s Top 5 prospects, logged 29 minutes in the game and posted 4 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. He shot 2-for-11 from the field and 0-for-3 from deep.

Baylor struggled to get their offence going in the opening half of the game. They missed their first five shot attempts and were shooting 36.2 per cent from the field going into the second half.

“VJ” scored his first points with the Baylor Bears at the 2:08 mark of the first half. He made a layup off an assist from Robert Wright III to shift the score to 42-28.

The Bulldogs were comfortably ahead 49-30 at the end of the first half.

The Bears chipped away at Gonzaga’s lead in the second half and shaved the deficit down to 13 (59-46) at the 13:34 mark. 

The Bulldogs then put together a 24-4 run in the second half to shut down any chances of a Baylor comeback. 

Before the game ended, Edgcombe posterized guard Joe Few, the son of Gonzaga coach Mark  Few. “VJ” got ahead in the open court and received an assist from Josh Ojianwuna and nearly jumped over Few for a thunderous finish with 1:41 remaining in the game. 

His dunk was one of the bright spots in what was otherwise a tough loss for Baylor.

It was the biggest win margin in Bulldogs history over a top-10 opponent. 

Nolan Hickman led Gonzaga with 17 points and Norchad Omier paced the Bears with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Gonzaga benefited greatly from sharpshooting. The team converted 57.1 per cent of their field goals while Baylor shot 37.1 per cent for the game.

The Bulldogs also made 41.9 per cent of their threes while holding Baylor to 14.3 per cent shooting from deep.

The Bulldogs also bullied Baylor on the glass, outrebounding their opponents 45-32.

Baylor will return to action on Saturday night at 7:30pm versus the no.16 ranked Arkansas.

Edgecombe and the Bears will compete at the Baha Mar Hoops Championship later this month from November 21-22 at the Baha Mar Resort.