Dunn scores 23, including two late 3s, as No. 24 Baylor holds off No. 22 Texas A&M, 70-66

Dunn leads No. 24 Baylor past No. 22 Texas A&M

WACO, Texas — LaceDarius Dunn had 23 points, including consecutive 3-pointers after Baylor had gone 4½ minutes without a field goal and a pair of late free throws, leading the No. 24 Bears past No. 22 Texas A&M 70-66 Wednesday night.

Texas A&M (19-8, 8-5 Big 12) had cut what was a 13-point deficit to one when Donald Sloan hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with just over 4 minutes left.

Dunn then hit a 3 from the top of the key, a ball that bounced off the rim several times before finally falling through to make it 62-58. That was Baylor’s first field goal since Dunn’s floater in traffic gave the Bears (21-6, 8-5) a 56-46 lead with 8:16 left.

B.J. Holmes hit another 3 for A&M, but Dunn responded with another of his own from the right corner with 3:13 left. That was the last of Dunn’s four 3-pointers.

Donald Sloan led Texas A&M with 22 points.

The Aggies were within 67-66 in the final minute when Ray Turner made two free throws after being fouled by Ekpe Udoh, who had just had a turnover following Sloan’s twisting baseline jumper.

But Udoh made up for that when he rebounded a miss by teammate Tweety Carter, and Dunn hit two free throws with 17 seconds after being fouled on the same possession.

Sloan then missed what would have been a tying 3-pointer. Quincy Acy was fouled on the rebound with 2.2 seconds left, then made one of his free throws.

Josh Loomers added 10 points and seven rebounds for Baylor, while Udoh and Acy both had nine points.

Bryan Davis had 14 points and 10 rebounds while B.J. Holmes had 11 points for Texas A&M, which had won five of six games with a 78-71 victory over Baylor 2½ weeks ago.

The 201st meeting between the schools located only about 90 miles apart and at different points on the Brazos River was only the second when both were in the Top 25. The other was two years ago, when Baylor won 116-110 in five overtimes at College Station.

With only three games left in the regular season, Baylor and Texas A&M are tied with Texas for fourth place in the Big 12. The top four teams in the standings get a first-round bye in the conference tournaments.

Baylor surged ahead 52-39 with 10-0 run in the second half.

Acy made a strong move inside to score over Ray Turner, then Carter made a bounce pass to Dunn streaking wide open for a layup before A.J. Walton and Fred Ellis both hit 3-pointers.

Texas A&M was ahead for the first time since the opening minute of the game when David Loubeau picked up a loose ball after a Udoh block and scored to make it 27-25 with just under 5 minutes left in the first half.

But the Bears never trailed after the 6-foot-10 Udoh hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 31-28 only 2:22 before halftime.