National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Baylor 112, Long Beach St. 66
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Where: The Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas
Officials: # Jeff Campbell, # Brent Meaux, # Jeff Wooten
Attendance: 4034

Baylor 112, Long Beach State 66: Brady Heslip scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the first half and matched a career high with eight 3-pointers as the Bears cruised over the visiting 49ers in the first round of the NIT.

Cory Jefferson added 15 points and eight rebounds for Baylor (19-14), which will host Arizona State or Detroit in Friday's second round. Taurean Prince added 14 points and Isaiah Austin 13 for the Bears, who led by 23 a little over 10 minutes into the contest and made 16-of-23 from 3-point range overall.

Kris Gulley had 13 points, while Keala King and Tony Freeland had 12 points apiece to lead the way for Long Beach State (19-14). Leading scorer James Ennis was held to 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting for the 49ers, who have lost five of their last seven games.

Baylor broke the game open by scoring 15 straight points and Heslip drained 6-of-8 from behind the 3-point arc to help build a 59-34 lead at intermission. The Bears shot 60.6 percent, collected 16 assists and only turned the ball over three times in the dominant opening 20 minutes.

Gary Franklin and Pierre Jackson both added 11 points and Deuce Bello 10 for Baylor, which shot 63.5 percent overall. A.J. Walton contributed nine assists for the Bears, who had 31 assists on 40 field goals and topped their previous season high of 107 points.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Baylor’s 59 points in the first half were 10 more than any half in their previous 26 postseason games. … Heslip is 24-of-38 in five career postseason games. … Long Beach State shot 33.3 percent from the field.
Top Game Performances
 
Long Beach St.   Baylor
Kris Gulley 13 Scoring Brady Heslip 26
Mike Caffey 4 Assists A.J. Walton 9
Edgar Garibay 5 Rebounds Rico Gathers 9
Tony Freeland 4 Free Throws Made Isaiah Austin 4
James Ennis 3 Steals L.J. Rose 2
N/A Blocks Isaiah Austin 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Long Beach St. 66 33.3 5-16 19-23 10 23 0 9 13
Baylor 112 63.5 16-23 16-25 31 42 4 5 14