Associated Press
By Stephen Hawkins
Associated Press Basketball Writer
WACO — Anthony Jones scored a career-high 21 points, including two 3-pointers in the opening stretch of the second half when ninth-ranked Baylor took control on the way to a 70-50 victory over South Carolina State on Tuesday night.
Baylor (4-0) opened the second half by scoring 14 consecutive points in just more than 4 minutes.
Jones got it started with a 3 from the right side less than a minute into the half, then followed with another from the left side. Brady Heslip made a pair of 3-pointers before a turnaround jumper by Quincy Miller for a 47-28 lead.
That came after the Bears had scored the last five points of the first half to break the last tie.
Jones was 9-of-14 shooting and had three 3-pointers. Pierre Jackson added 11 points for Baylor, which plays at home again Wednesday night.
Brandon Riley scored 13 points to lead South Carolina State (2-2), but also had nine turnovers. Khalif Toombs added 12 points.
South Carolina State had seven turnovers, six by Riley, and had missed five shots to start the second half before Toombs grabbed a defensive rebound and then scored with 13:08 left.
The Bulldogs closed the gap to 54-38 on a 3-pointer by Riley with 7½ minutes left that capped an 11-2 run in which Toombs had two 3-pointers before Baylor coach Scott Drew called timeout.
With another game in less than 24 hours, Drew kept rotating players. This game didn’t start until after 9 p.m. local time because it was part of a doubleheader and followed the top-ranked Lady Bears’ 109-59 victory over the Yale Bulldogs.
The game was tied 28-all after Omar Sanders had a tip-in for South Carolina State with 1:18 left in the first half. Quincy Acy’s jumper with a minute left put the Bears ahead to stay, and they were up 33-28 after A.J. Walton’s tip-in just before the buzzer.
Sanders finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Miller, the freshman who had been the Bears’ leading scorer each of the first three games, was held to five points on 2-of-8 shooting.
The Bears on Wednesday night host Texas-Arlington (3-0), which also played and won Tuesday night. UTA defeated North Texas 97-64.
That will be the last game Baylor will have to play without preseason Big 12 player of the year Perry Jones III, the 6-foot-11 sophomore forward who has been serving a six-game NCAA suspension for accepting improper benefits before he got to Baylor.
Jones’ suspension started in Baylor’s final game last season. He will be eligible to return next Tuesday at home against Prairie View.
