Hot-Shooting No. 9 Baylor Defeats Cyclones, 79-64

WACO, Texas – No. 9 Baylor hit shots at a very high clip Monday night as the Bears (22-4, 9-4 Big 12) ran away from Iowa State (18-8, 8-5 Big 12), 79-64 Monday night at the Ferrell Center.

The Bears hit 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) shots while outscoring the Cyclones 48-40 in the second stanza. Baylor shot 60 percent from the field on 33-of-55. It was the first time Iowa State saw an opponent shoot at least 60 percent from the field since allowing 61.4 of South Florida’s shots to go in on Dec. 21, 2005.

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The Cyclones were led by 17 points from Melvin Ejim on 7-of-11 shooting. It marked the seventh time the sophomore has hit double-figures in Big 12 play this season. Ejim also led the Cyclones on the glass with seven boards and tying a career-high with four assists. Royce White also made it to double-figures, his 10th double-digit effort in Big 12 play, with 14 points. Percy Gibson contributed nine points, his highest conference game output of his career and his highest since posting 15 points against Prairie View A&M on Dec. 6.

Down 31-24 at the half, the Bears were looking to take the Cyclones out early as Brady Heslip hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the half. Iowa State hung around, getting the BU lead down to five points at 44-39 on an Ejim basket.

The Bears made the key run to put the Cyclones out of sight halfway through the second half as a 6-0 run with buckets from Quincy Miller, Anthony Jones and Perry Jones III to made a six-point lead a 12-point 58-46 lead for the Bears. Iowa State only got the lead down to single digits one other time.

The Bears were led by 18 points from Jones III on 8-of-13 shooting. Also getting to double-figures for Baylor was Miller (16), Anthony Jones (12) and Quincy Acy (11).

Baylor was ready to roll from the tips as the Bears rushed out to a 7-0 advantage in the first two minutes, five points coming from Jones III. Iowa State got back into it as the Cyclones got the BU lead down to 9-7 on a White bucket.

The Bears then put together a 13-4 run capped off by a Jones III jumper to give Baylor its largest lead of the half at 22-11. Iowa State fought back with a quick 8-0 run capped off by a Percy Gibson bucket to make it 22-19. BU closed the half with a 31-24 lead on another Jones III bucket with 1:46 to go.

Jones III, the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, was the leader for Baylor with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Chris Babb led the Cyclones with six points on two 3-pointers and Scott Christopherson added five points in the first half.

Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum Saturday when it plays host to Oklahoma. Tipoff is slated for 12:45 p.m. CST on the Big 12 Network.

Courtesy cyclones.com.