Waco, TX – Pierre Jackson scored a game-high 25 points and dished out six assists to lead 19th-ranked Baylor to a 78-47 win over Jackson State on Sunday.
Cory Jefferson added 14 points and Rico Gathers recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards for the Bears (2-0), who were eliminated in the Elite Eight of last season's NCAA Tournament by Kentucky.
"I think we saw improvement from our freshmen," said Baylor coach Scott Drew. "I thought we got better in our transition defense. As far as offensively, we didn't shoot it well. The good thing is we were still able to defend and rebound and improve from our first game."
Jeff Stubbs scored 16 and Willie Readus added 11 points off the bench for the Tigers (0-1).
Baylor never trailed in the game but let Jackson State hang around somewhat over the first 10 minutes, leading 19-8. But the Bears quickly started to run away with it, building a comfortable 40-23 lead at the break.
The Baylor advantage grew to as 32 points in the second half at 75-43 with just 3:00 left and the Bears coasted to the easy victory.
The Bears are 6-0 all-time against Jackson State.
Game Notes
Baylor is 46-7 in its last 53 home games at the Ferrell Center and 71-16 at home in the last 6 seasons ... The Bears are 43-0 against members of the SWAC ... Baylor has made at least one 3-point field goal in 659 consecutive games ... The last time Baylor did not connect from 3-point range was Feb. 21, 1990 vs. Texas Tech.
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