Tony Gutierrez | Associated Press
By Stephen Hawkins
Associated Press Basketball Writer
WACO — Quincy Acy and Baylor got their high-flying act going in a hurry.
The sixth-ranked Bears got to have some fun while also applying what they went over in an earlier practice session with a 95-54 victory over Paul Quinn College on Monday night.
Acy had a dunk in the opening minute before 6-foot-11 sophomore standout Perry Jones III followed with a putback slam of Brady Heslip’s missed 3-pointer for a quick 6-0 lead.
“I meant to do that,” Heslip said jokingly of his miss that led to that dunk.
Baylor (10-0) was just getting started. The Bears went on to have 17 dunks by six players, including seven by Acy, a 6-7 senior.
“Oh yeah, that’s fun,” Acy said. “My teammates did a great job of finding me, and I did what I do best when I get around the rim.”
While coach Scott Drew enjoyed the dunkfest, he was more pleased with how his team responded to a session earlier in the day when the emphasis was on rebounding. Though the Bears passed a big road test with an 86-83 win Saturday, they were outrebounded 44-31 at BYU, which also had 19 offensive rebounds.
The Bears outrebounded undersized Paul Quinn 51-20.
“Tonight was a great opportunity for us to come out and improve in an area that we didn’t do very well against BYU. And that was rebound the ball,” Drew said. “Even though it’s not the size we’re going to face the rest of the year, at least it’s a step in the right direction in helping fix that problem.”
Baylor has won its first 10 games for only the second time, the best start in team history being 12-0 in 2000-01. The Bears have won 50 of their last 53 non-conference home games over the past six seasons.
Along with the rebounding edge, the Bears shot 60 percent (38 of 63). That included nine 3-pointers.
“From the rebounding standpoint, it looked good. Shooting percentage. They better watch it. We might practice more often,” Drew said. “But again, I think we really wanted to focus on the rebounding part of things.”
Darrell Augustine had 15 points for Paul Quinn, an NAIA school from Dallas that counted the game as an exhibition and not against its 2-7 record.
Heslip added 12 points on four 3-pointers while Anthony Jones had 10 points for Baylor.
The Bears jumped to a 14-4 lead in just over 3 minutes, when they had already three dunks and two 3-pointers.
Baylor had 10 dunks by halftime, when Acy already had five and five other players each had one. Jones and Cory Jefferson also finished the game with multiple dunks.
The mismatch wasn’t a surprise considering that only two of the nine players the Tigers had on the trip were taller than 6-2, with the tallest being 6-6 forward Tori Green. The Bears have eight players who are 6-6 or taller.
“They’re just big, and they work hard together. They stick to their strength. They’re a big team,” Paul Quinn coach Charles Keeley said. “They get the ball inside, they go up strong. That’s what they’re supposed to do.”
Things will get much tougher for the Bears later this week in Las Vegas, when they play Saint Mary’s and West Virginia on consecutive nights.
Baylor was up 20-10 when Jefferson rebounded his own miss and followed with a strong two-handed slam. After the ensuing timeout, Acy was impressive even in his only missed dunk attempt.
When Acy tried to slam a shot, the ball hit with so much force off the rim that it ricocheted into the lap of a Paul Quinn player sitting on the bench.
But Acy recovered quickly with a one-handed flush for a 24-12 lead. Then he reached back with full force for a two-handed slam that made it 32-16 before 5-10 Pierre Jackson had a one-handed slam.
Acy, recognized before the game for becoming Baylor’s 25th career 1,000-point scorer last week, has scored 400 of his 1,033 career points on dunks.
He was 10 of 12 from the field and finished one point short of his career-high. The seven dunks weren’t even his most in a game — he had 10 in the 2009-10 regular season finale against Texas.
Gary Franklin, a transfer from California, played his first home game for the Bears. He made two 3-pointers, including a long one from the right side for a 60-37 lead with just over 13 minutes left.
Before a 58-point win over Paul Quinn in the 2008-09 season opener, Baylor hadn’t played an NAIA team since 1984.
The closest Paul Quinn got was 14-10 when Augustine made his second consecutive 3-pointer. But as he backpedaled on the court after making the long shot, he fell down.
Franklin then responded with a 3-pointer for Baylor.
“Gary thinks the further out, the better the shot,” Drew said. “If he’s making them, we’re OK with it.
