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Baylor advances after holding off South Dakota State

Mar 16, 2012 - 5:06 AM Albuquerque, NM (Sports Network) - Pierre Jackson scored 18 points, Brady Heslip had 17 and Baylor survived Thursday for a 68-60 win over South Dakota State in its NCAA Tournament opener.

Baylor, ranked No. 9 in the AP poll and seeded third in the South region, went on an 8-0 run midway through the second half after the Jackrabbits had gotten within three points, then held on after letting them get within four down the stretch.

"We certainly had a lot of opportunities we let slip away," said South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy.

Anthony Jones added 11 points and Quincy Miller had 10 for the Bears (28-7), who moved on to face 11th-seeded Colorado on Saturday.

Summit League champion South Dakota State (27-8) was led by Nate Wolters' game-high 19 points and 15 from Chad White. The 14th-seeded Jackrabbits made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor is a No. 3 seed for the second time in three years -- its highest ever placement in the NCAAs -- following a season that started 17-0 and included a loss to Missouri in the Big 12 title game on Saturday.

But it trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and was squeezed by the Jackrabbits down the stretch.

"I know our guys were prepared for a very good game. South Dakota State coming in, we had a lot of respect," said Baylor coach Scott Drew. "We knew they were a great team and we're pleased to get the win. I think in the beginning of the game we showed our jitters a little bit, then after that, I was very pleased with how we calmed down and got back to playing basketball."

Brayden Carlson's layup cut the Baylor lead to 47-44 inside 13 minutes. The Bears then used their 8-0 run to create some space, getting the final four points from Miller on a dunk and a layup.

Another Carlson layup and a three-pointer from Griffan Callahan sparked an 8-2 surge for South Dakota State, which pulled within 64-60 on White's three from the corner with 1:13 remaining.

The Jackrabbits never scored again while Heslip and Jackson sealed the Baylor win with two free throws apiece down the stretch. Among South Dakota State's misses near the end was a three-pointer from Carlson that was off with under 30 seconds remaining and the Jackrabbits trailing by four.

The Bears shot better than 44 percent from the floor, including 8-of-20 from three-point range. They had a 36-28 lead at halftime after overcoming deficits of 8-0 and 19-7 early on.

"They came out there swinging, knocking down open shots, knocking down contested threes," said Jackson. "Coach called a timeout and we had to gather ourselves, and we switched to man (defense)."

South Dakota state went 10-for-30 on threes and shot 42 percent.

Game Notes

In 2010, Baylor was also a No. 3 seed in the South Region and advanced to the Elite Eight...The Jackrabbits beat Western Illinois in the Summit League championship last week to earn their bid...Baylor matched its record of 28 wins set in 2009-10 by the Elite Eight team that finished 28-8.