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O'Neale's hot shooting powers Baylor past Norfolk St.

Dec 31, 2014 - 3:11 AM Waco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Royce O'Neale put on an impressive shooting display in the second half and finished with 23 points to lead 22nd-ranked Baylor to a 92-51 rout of Norfolk State on Tuesday.

O'Neale was 7-of-9 from the floor and hit 5-of-6 shots from 3-point range, while Rico Gathers, Taurean Prince and Al Freeman all scored 13 points for the Bears (11-1), who have won six straight games.

Jeff Short netted 23 points and D'Shon Taylor supplied 11 points and six rebounds for the Spartans (9-6), who had their three-game winning streak come to an end.

Gathers' three-point play gave Baylor a 10-6 lead less than three minutes in, but Norfolk State went ahead with an 11-2 run as Rashid Gaston's layup staked the Spartans to a 19-14 lead over eight minutes into the contest.

Baylor rattled off nine straight points as O'Neale hit a pair of free throws for a 25-21 lead with 5:50 to play in the first half and Prince beat the buzzer with a shot from beyond the arc for a 32-27 Bears lead at the break.

O'Neale was the difference as he hit a trey to start the second half and then made four straight shots from beyond during an 18-0 run that gave the Bears a 55-29 lead just over five minutes into the final stanza.

The Bears stretched their lead to 43 points down the stretch.

Game Notes

Baylor is the only Division I team to hold all of its opponents to 66 points or fewer this season ... The Bears also won the only other meeting between the two schools by an 86-58 score on Nov. 13, 2009 ... Baylor is now 15-0 against current MEAC teams ... The Bears have won their last 12 games at Ferrell Center ... Norfolk State came into the game with the rebounding edge in its past 11 contests, but was outrebounded 46-31 by Baylor ... The Bears shot 50 percent from the floor and held the Spartans to 33.3 percent shooting.