Carter, Udoh score 23 each, No. 25 Baylor wins 11th straight at home, 71-45 over UMass

Carter, Udoh lead No. 25 Baylor to win over UMass

WACO, Texas — Ekpe Udoh and Tweety Carter each scored 23 points to lead No. 25 Baylor to its school-record 11th straight home victory, 71-45 over Massachusetts on Saturday.

Three days after a tough 81-75 loss at No. 3 Kansas, the Bears (15-3) dominated in their final game outside the Big 12 this season to extend their home winning streak that stretches back to last season’s NIT.

LaceDarius Dunn added 15 points for the Bears, though he fell short of becoming the first Baylor player in 12 seasons to have five consecutive 20-point games.

UMass (7-12) lost its fifth consecutive game even while becoming the only team this season to outrebound the Bears (42-33). The Minutemen have lost seven of eight overall, and six in a row on the road.

Baylor went ahead to stay when Quincy Acy had a breakaway slam 5 minutes into the game to break a 9-all tie. That also started a 12-0 run, which included a 5-minute scoring drought between Carter making two free throws and hitting a 3-pointer. Dunn’s 3-pointer made it 21-9 with 7:45 left in the first half.

Udoh and Carter both also had seven rebounds. Udoh had seven blocked shots and made 13 consecutive free throws before missing his final one in the closing minutes.

Ricky Harris led UMass with 15 points and Terrell Vinson had 14. The Minutemen shot 24 percent (15 of 62) and 5 of 29 on 3-point attempts.

Baylor finished 13-1 in non-conference games, their most wins outside of league play since winning 14 in 1945-46.

The Minutemen, now 30-70 against Top 25 teams, scored the first six points after halftime. They were within 34-25 after Sampson Carter hit a 3-pointer and Harris made a basket and then hit the free throw.

But Carter drove for a short baseline jumper, and by time he hit a 3-pointer a few minutes later, the Bears had a 9-0 run that stretched the lead to 19 points.

Anthony Gurley scored five of his nine points in a matter of seconds late in the first half, making two free throws and then a 3-pointer after a Baylor turnover. But after a Bears timeout, Carter hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead back to 28-17.

Dunn had a steal and passed to Udoh for another breakaway layup just before halftime, when Baylor lead 36-20.

It was the first meeting between the teams that were runners-up in the last two postseason NIT tournaments — Baylor last year and UMass in 2008.