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Rush leads Kansas to rout of Baylor

Jan 25, 2007 - 4:21 AM WACO, Texas (Ticker) -- Brandon Rush led a strong first-half charge and Baylor could not recover.

Rush scored nine of his 18 points in the opening half to lead eighth-ranked Kansas to a resounding 82-56 victory over the lowly Bears in a Big 12 Conference contest.

Kansas (17-3, 4-1 Big 12) opened the first 20 minutes on a 20-3 run that was capped by freshman Sherron Collins' 3-pointer with 9:18 remaining.

Overall, the Jayhawks shot 64 percent (16-of-25) in the first half, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, in taking a 40-18 lead at the half. Conversely, Baylor (11-8, 1-5) was held to a dismal 19 percent (6-of-31).

The Bears pulled within 61-43 on a layup by Henry Dugat with 8:54 to play but the Jayhawks answered with a 12-4 run to give them a 73-47 advantage.

Julian Wright netted 16 points and Collins added 13 for Kansas, which had 16 points off Baylor's 18 turnovers.

Curtis Jerrells scored 12 points for Baylor, who finished 20-of-66 (30 percent) from the floor.

Bears' coach Scott Drew sat on the sidelines one day after undergoing an appendectomy, but did not coach.