James scores 18 points and Cincinnati uses frantic finish to hold off Bayor 69-67

CINCINNATI (AP) — Jizzle James scored 18 points, Dillon Mitchell added 13 and Cincinnati held off Baylor 69-67 on Tuesday night to strengthen its case for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Josh Reed scored 11 points and Day Day Thomas had 10 for the Bearcats (17-11, 7-10 Big 12), who have won five of their last seven.

VJ Edgecombe scored 18 points and Norchad Omier had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Baylor (16-12, 8-9), which is seeing its at-large hopes diminish after a third straight loss.

With six seconds left, Edgecombe missed a challenged shot near the rim in an attempt to tie it. Omier and Thomas wrestled for the loose ball and the possession arrow favored Cincinnati. On the inbound, Edgecombe fouled Mitchell sending him to the line with 1.2 seconds left.

Mitchell missed the front end of a one-and-one, but his 7-foot teammate Aziz Bandaogo skied to swat the ball away as time expired.

In the first half, Cincinnati turned a 22-17 deficit into a 35-24 lead with an 18-2 run that lasted close to seven minutes. Cincinnati led 39-26 at halftime before Baylor used the first 10 minutes of the second half to get back in it.

Jalen Celestine's 3-pointer with 11:34 left brought the Bears within 50-48. Edgecombe made three 3-pointers in succession and Baylor led 57-56 with 8:13 to go. Bandaogo followed with a tip-in and Cincinnati led the rest of the way.

Baylor hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Cincinnati travels to play fourth-ranked Houston on Saturday.

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