Dunn’s 26 lift Baylor over Old Dominion
March 21, 2010
NEW ORLEANS (AP)—With its first NCAA tournament victory in 60 years out of theway, Baylor has now earned an extended stay.
LaceDarius Dunn scored 26 points and the third-seeded Bears outlasted No. 11Old Dominion 76-68 on Saturday in the second round of the South Regional. Baylorsquandered a 14-point first-half lead but went on a late 8-1 run to pull away.
Now, the Bears (27-7) head back to their home state to play 10th-seededSaint Mary’s in Houston in the round of 16.
Baylor struggled to beat Sam Houston State in the first round for its firstNCAA tournament win since 1950, but the Bears arrived loose and confidentagainst Old Dominion, taking a double-digit lead amid a barrage of early3-pointers and alley-oops.
After the Monarchs (27-9) rallied to take the lead in the second half,Baylor received a big lift from 7-footer Josh Lomers, who tied a career highwith 14 points, 12 in the second half.
Old Dominion, which edged No. 6 seed Notre Dame 51-50 in the first round,was trying to become the first team from the Colonial Athletic Association toreach the round of 16 since George Mason’s Final Four run in 2006. The Bearswould have none of it, scoring the most points of any Monarchs opponent allseason.
Down 38-28, Old Dominion scored nine straight points to start the secondhalf. Frank Hassell dunked to make it a one-point game, then shot the OldDominion cheering section a quick glance before heading back on defense.
A little while later, Kent Bazemore’s two free throws put Old Dominion ahead49-47—its first lead since 1-0.
The Monarchs could never shake the Bears, though, and they couldn’t containLomers, the lumbering senior who always seemed to be around the basket with theball. With Baylor ahead 62-61, Old Dominion lost track of Lomers, and histhree-point play started the Bears’ final big run.
Dunn’s 3-pointer made it 68-62, and a reverse layup by Tweety Carter putBaylor ahead by eight.
Hassell had 15 points and eight rebounds for Old Dominion.
The Bears made their first four shots of the game—including 3-pointers byDunn and Carter and an alley-oop from Carter to Dunn—to take a 10-1 lead.Bazemore answered with an alley-oop dunk of his own at the other end, but thatdid little to stem the tide. Dunn made a 3-pointer and sneaked behind thedefense for another alley-oop from Carter for a 15-5 lead.
Baylor led by as many as 14, and yet another alley-oop—again Carter toDunn—made it 31-18. Carter capped the half with a floater that beat the buzzerto make it 38-28.
Carter finished with 12 points and eight assists.