Baylor
St. Edwards
Men's Basketball Tops Hilltoppers, 84-57
12/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 9, 2000
WACO, Texas - It wasn't total domination, but the Baylor men's basketball team did what was necessary and then some as the Bears beat St. Edward's 84-57 at the Ferrell Center Saturday night. With the win, the Bears remain undefeated at 4-0, while the Hilltoppers drop to 5-3.
"This game was an example of post-exam blahs," Baylor head coach Dave Bliss said. "We didn't play with enough emotion after we got the early lead."
In the midst of semester exams, the Bears let the Hilltoppers hang close early on. Baylor jumped out 6-0 to start the game, but St. Edward's came back to tie the game at 14, then take a 22-16 lead at the seven minute mark in the first half. The Bears scored the next 12 points, holding the Hilltoppers scoreless for nearly four minutes, to go up 28-22. Baylor took the six point lead into the half, ahead 33-27.
"We were getting the shots we wanted [in the first half], it was just a matter of us stepping up and hitting them," senior guard DeMarcus Minor said.
The Bears found their shooting touch in the second half. After missing all 14 three-point attempts in the first half, Baylor went 9-for-18 in the second half from beyond the arc. The sharper shooting allowed the Bears to steadily increase their lead, with the final 27-point margin being their game high.
Baylor suffered a scary moment when, with 5:51 remaining in the game, senior forward Terry Black left the game after suffering a hard foul. What looked like a possible knee injury turned out to be nothing more than a cramp, and Black returned to finish the game.
Minor notched his fourth career double-double, scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Black led all scorers with 22 points, while sophomore guard Wendell Greenleaf added 17 points for the Bears in just his second career start. Ben Lyman led the Hilltoppers with 15 points.
The Bears 4-0 start on the season makes 2000-01 the second straight years Dave Bliss' team has begun with that record. The last time the Bears started two seasons in a row with a 4-0 record was 1981-82 and 1982-83.
Baylor's next action comes Dec. 16, when the Bears take to the road for the first time this season and travel to California to face Cal State-Fullerton. Game time is set for 9:05 p.m. CT.
