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Baylor downs Texas A&M to remain unbeaten

Jan 3, 2012 - 3:54 AM Waco, TX (Sports Network) - Perry Jones III scored 14 points to go with 12 rebounds, leading the fourth-ranked Baylor Bears to a 61-52 win over Texas A&M on Monday.

Quincy Acy netted 13 points and pulled down six rebounds, while Quincy Miller had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bears (14-0), who are off to their best start in the history of Baylor basketball, eclipsing a 13-0 start in 1945-46. A.J. Walton chipped in 10 points for Baylor.

"Any time that you play Texas A&M, you are in for a hard-fought game," Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. "I thought both teams really competed. Both teams are great defensively and I was really proud of our defensive effort holding them to just 28 percent field goal defense."

Elston Turner scored a game-high 21 points for the Aggies (9-4), and Khris Middleton finished with 14 points. Texas A&M has dropped three of its last four contests.

Baylor opened the game with eight straight points, but Texas A&M scored seven of the next nine points to make it 10-7, six-plus minutes into the first half.

The Bears responded with a 7-0 run to take a 17-7 lead, before the run was snapped by a Turner layup with 9:39 on the first half clock.

A pair of free throws by Turner pulled the Aggies within 19-11, but Baylor answered with a 9-0 push to expand its lead to 28-11 with 2:30 to play before the break. Texas A&M closed the opening 20 minutes with three-pointers on its final two trips down the floor and trailed 30-17 at halftime.

Despite the comfortable margin, Baylor shot only 36 percent from the floor in the half, while Texas A&M shot 21 percent (6-of-28) from the field -- including a stretch of 12 consecutive misses from the floor.

The Bears opened the second half with an 11-5 push to lead 41-22 less than five minutes into the half.

Baylor led by double-digits throughout the majority of the half, until Texas A&M made it interesting with less than two minutes to play.

A pair of free throws by Middleton cut the deficit to single-digits, 59-50, for the first time since it was 19-11, but the Aggies didn't get any closer, as they missed shots on their final two possessions and were forced to foul with 13 seconds left, sealing the win for Baylor.

"You have to give Baylor credit. They made a lot of shots," Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. "I thought they did a good job offensively even when our defense was good. We need to stay out of foul trouble. We have to limit our margin of error."

Game Notes

Despite the loss, Texas A&M leads the all-time series between the teams by a 127-77 margin, but Baylor has won the last four meetings...Baylor shot 39 percent from the floor and 2-of-12 from beyond the arc, while Texas A&M shot just 29 percent (18-of-63) from the floor and 7-of-25 from three-point range...Baylor outrebounded Texas A&M, 41-38...Baylor got the better of the play inside, putting home 26 points in the paint to only 18 for the Aggies.