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Dunn goes off as Baylor cruises by Kansas State

Jan 22, 2009 - 6:30 AM MANHATTAN, Kansas (Ticker) -- LaceDarius Dunn's shots kept falling and Baylor had little problem getting its first road win in the Big 12 Conference.

Dunn tied the school record with nine 3-pointers and scored a season-high 33 points as No. 23 Baylor coasted by Kansas State, 83-65, on Wednesday.

The 6-4 sophomore went 9-of-12 from the arc off the bench for the Bears (15-3, 3-1 Big 12), who visit No. 5 Oklahoma on Saturday.

"I was really surprised. They kept the same defense," Dunn said. "I have to give a lot of credit to our guards. They found the open spots and it was my responsibility to knock down the shots."

Baylor jumped out to a 10-2 lead just over seven minutes into the game and never trailed.

The Bears finished the half strong and Dunn made three consecutive 3-pointers as the visitors opened up a 36-19 advantage with 2:35 left in the first half.

"I thought we (matched their intensity) early on and felt like it gave us a chance to get a lead," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Once we got a lead, I thought our guards did a great job on getting LaceDarius the ball. When he gets hot, you can really light it up in a hurry, and that's what he did tonight."

After going into the locker rooms with a 13-point lead, Baylor opened up its largest lead at 53-34 with 14:06 remaining. Dunn scored on a layup off a great feed from Kevin Rogers and freshman Quincy Acy had a dunk in transition to cap a 7-2 spurt.

Kansas State tried to manufacture a run but Dunn had an answer each time, drilling three more shots from the arc to make it a 62-45 score with 10:20 remaining.

The Wildcats, who lost their fourth straight game, never got within single digits the rest of the way.

"Credit to (Dunn), he made those shots," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. "One thing that you can't do against Baylor is get down. I don't mean down by six or seven points, I mean get down big like we did.

"(Curtis) Jerrells is so good. You can't speed him up, you can't get him into areas of the floor where you can trap him or get him in trouble. He gets the ball where it needs to be."

Jerrells scored 18 points and Rogers finished with 12 and 11 rebounds for Baylor, which shot 56 percent (28-of-50) from the field. The Bears had 19 assists on 28 baskets.

Denis Clemente scored 17 points to lead the Wildcats (11-7, 0-4), who are struggling to find leadership this season.

Martin is worried about the mentality of his team going forward.

"We're scarred. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that we're not," he said. "That's where I come in to play. If at any time I'm scarred or I hang my head, then those poor kids in that locker room don't have a chance."