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Jones' hot hand lifts Baylor past K-State

Mar 8, 2012 - 11:58 PM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - After an outstanding start to the year, Baylor staggered at the end of the regular season, but Perry Jones III made sure there wasn't going to be a letdown for the 12th-ranked Bears in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

Jones netted a career-high 31 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the floor to go with 11 rebounds, as Baylor downed Kansas State, 82-74.

"Coaches always want to win and do what you need to do to win. But Perry's one guy I think our whole staff and team really felt good that had a great game. I think throughout the year he's received a lot of negativity and at the same time I think as we've all shared with him -- and he's a positive kid," Baylor head coach Scott Drew said.

Brady Heslip scored 15 points while Pierre Jackson added 13 points and eight assists for fourth-seeded Baylor (26-6), which started the season with 17 straight wins and went just 4-4 over its final eight games.

A.J. Walton chipped in 11 points off the bench for the Bears, who will face Kansas in Friday's semifinals.

Jordan Henriquez had a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds for fifth- seeded Kansas State (21-10).

"Defensively we were so selfish today. We didn't help each other. We didn't go rebound the basketball. We just-- they set the tone. They came after us and knocked us down, and we really never punched back," Kansas State head coach Frank Martin said.

This was the first conference tournament game for the stellar sophomore Jones, who was ruled ineligible prior to the start of last year's tourney for accepting impermissible benefits. Jones also missed the first five games of this season for that violation.

He showcased several assets of his repertoire during a personal 8-0 run, which helped the Bears build a 21-15 advantage midway through the first half.

Jones began the flurry with a straightaway three-pointer and followed with a baseline jumper. He then capped the spurt by running the fastbreak and finished it with a left-handed layup while drawing the foul. Jones made the subsequent free throw.

Jones nailed all eight of his field-goal attempts and netted 21 points in the opening 20 minutes as Baylor took a 45-36 lead into the locker room.

A 7-0 flurry helped the Bears build a 14-point lead midway through the second half. Quincy Acy's jumper and three-point play, followed by Jones' dunk -- his first field goal of the second half -- made it 64-50.

The Bears, who led by as many as 16, maintained their double-digit advantage until Jamar Samuels' triple concluded the scoring with seven seconds left in the contest.

Game Notes

Acy finished with 10 points for Baylor, which shot 56.9 percent from the floor...Rodney McGruder scored 14 points in defeat...The Bears outrebounded the Wildcats 32-26...The Bears, as the seventh seed, lost to 10th-seeded Oklahoma in the first round of the 2011 Big 12 Tournament...The Bears defeated the Wildcats, 75-73, in their first meeting of the season on January 10, but Kansas State edged Baylor, 57-56, on February 18.