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Jerrells notches tripe-double as Baylor tops Hartford

Dec 23, 2008 - 7:36 AM WACO, Texas (Ticker) -- Curtis Jerrells completed the fourth triple-double in school history, leading No. 22 Baylor to a 74-59 victory over Hartford on Monday.

The senior guard ended up with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to lift the Bears (10-1) to their fourth straight win.

Jerrells' trifecta was the first since Brian Skinner accomplished the feat against Eastern Washington on November 29, 1997. Currently with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, Skinner also had a triple-double during the 1995-96 campaign.

The only other player to complete the feat was David Wesley against North Texas on December 30, 1991. The current student manager for the Bears, the former NBA player Wesley missed the performance as he was away for the holidays.

Henry Dugat scored 16 points and LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter chipped in 14 apiece for Baylor, which finished up with five players in double figures.

"I went in there a couple of times and tried to attack the rim, and I got a layup or two," Jerrells said of the team's balance. "When I got a little bit winded, Henry (Dugat) or Tweety (Carter) came in there (and took over). That is one of the advantages to our team; we have a lot of guys that can score one-on-one."

Despite the plethora of scorers, the Bears held a 54-51 lead after the Hawks' Jaret Von Rosenberg was fouled on a tough layup with 9:15 remaining. However, the senior guard could not complete the three-point play, and Baylor went on to score nine of the next 11 points.

"Every time that we got the lead to double digits they would come back," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Credit them for playing hard."

Jerrells sank two free throws with 1:26 remaining to give the Bears a 71-58 cushion, and found Kevin Rogers in transition for a layup with 42 seconds to play for his 10th assist to complete the rare feat.

"He is a great player," Von Rosenberg said of Jerrells. "He was a preseason All-American so that says it all. We played each other a bunch of times in AAU growing up. He has always been a great player and the sky is the limit for him."

A native of Mission, Texas, Von Rosenberg scored 19 points for Hartford (4-8), which fell to 0-2 against ranked teams this season.

Jerrells came relatively close to getting a triple-double in Baylor's previous game, a 79-76 tight win over Texas Arlington on Saturday, scoring 29 points while falling three rebounds and three assists shy.

On Monday, he shot 4-of-8 from the field, converted 8-of-11 free throws and committed only three turnovers.

On the other hand, Hartford weakened against Baylor's constant pressure, finishing up with 20 turnovers.

"I thought that the story of the game to me was the pressure applied on the ball throughout the game and picking up at our foul line and playing 75 feet," Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz said. "Eventually I thought they wore us down."

The one player that did not seem that affected by the Bears' play was Von Rosenberg, who had nine assists against three giveaways.

Von Rosenberg also shot 5-of-8 from the field with three 3-pointers as he finished in double figures for the seventh time this season.

"I think (Jaret) is very special, coming home playing in front of his family," Leibovitz said. "To be honest with you, I think he could help Baylor because he was one of the better guys on the floor. I am proud of our team tonight."