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No. 6 Baylor sneaks past BYU to remain perfect

Dec 18, 2011 - 12:22 AM Provo, UT (Sports Network) - With a huge sigh of relief, Baylor remains undefeated.

Late in regulation, Perry Jones III was lying on the ground in pain, grabbing his knee after colliding with BYU's Brandon Davies. He needed assistance to get off the court.

But moments later, he checked back into the game and tipped in a shot, which helped the sixth-ranked Bears secure an 86-83 victory over the Cougars and remain undefeated.

Jones scored a career-high 28 points, including six during a comeback Baylor (9-0) had to put together after falling behind at halftime.

"The way Perry was down, whenever you've had a previous knee injury you get concerned for any player," said Baylor head coach Scott Drew. "That's one thing as a coach, no one likes to see anyone get injured...You want to see people healthy. Especially when you're competing in crunch time like this."

Brady Heslip added 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range, and Pierre Jackson scored 13 for the Bears. Both made a number of crucial shots down the stretch.

Matt Carlino and Davies both had 18 points to lead the Cougars (8-3), who had won their last four.

"This was a really talented Baylor basketball team and they're turning into a team that's now playing with a lot of confidence," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "Having said that, I thought we gave them a really good game and had a lot of chances to win."

BYU held a 42-38 edge at the break and led throughout the early parts of the second half. The Cougars were ahead 64-56 with just under 13 minutes left after Carlino sank a jumper.

But on Baylor's next possession, Jones assisted on a three by Jackson. The sophomore forward then made three consecutive jumpers to continue the Bears' run, which A.J. Walton capped with a three for a 68-64 lead.

Baylor led the rest of the way, but needed every point. Consecutive threes by Heslip gave the Bears a 76-67 advantage, and after BYU climbed within a point after a long-distance make by Carlino, Quincy Acy got a jumper to fall.

That shot put the Bears ahead 84-81 with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Charles Abouo followed with a layup for the Cougars, and a series of turnovers kept it a one-point game heading into the final minute.

Jones suffered his injury with 1 1/2 minutes to go. But he checked back in with 37 seconds to play and Baylor holding the ball, along with the slim lead.

After Walton's three from the left wing bounced off the rim, Jones soared through the paint to grab the ball and put back a basket. Baylor held on for the victory as Carlino and Davies missed three-pointers in the final moments.

Game Notes

Davies grabbed 13 rebounds for BYU, while Abouo scored 17 points. Noah Hartsock had 15 in the loss...The Bears shot 50.8 percent, including 13-of-25 from three-point range...BYU held a 44-31 rebounding advantage.