National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Baylor 68, South Dakota St. 60
When: 7:25 PM ET, Thursday, March 15, 2012
Where: University Arena, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Officials: # Dwayne Gladden, # Leslie Jones, # Lamar Simpson
Attendance: N/A

Baylor 68, South Dakota State 60: Pierre Jackson had a team-high 18 points as Baylor advanced to the NCAA tournament’s round of 32 with a victory over the Jackrabbits in Albuquerque.

Brady Heslip finished with 17 points and Anthony Jones added 10 for the third-seeded Bears (28-7), who fell behind by as many as 12 points in the first half before taking a 36-28 lead into halftime.

Baylor will face either No. 6 UNLV or No. 11 Colorado on Saturday.

After Baylor took a 10-point lead early in the second half, South Dakota State (27-8) used an 8-1 run to pull within 47-44 with 12:44 remaining. But the Bears responded with an 8-0 run to increase its lead back to double digits and maintained at least a four-point advantage the rest of the way.

Quincy Miller had 10 points and Perry Jones III grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Baylor, which has advanced past the opening round in two straight NCAA tournament appearances.

Nate Wolters had a game-high 19 points and Chad White added 15 for South Dakota State, which finished second in the Summit League regular-season standings and appeared in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

The Jackrabbits were outrebounded 31-17, including 12-4 on the offensive glass.

GAME NOTEBOOK: South Dakota State made nine of its first 11 attempts from the field to jump out to an early 19-7 lead. … The Jackrabbits lost for just the second time in 13 games. … Baylor improved to 7-8 all-time in the NCAA tournament. … South Dakota State finished 1-4 against major conference teams. … Heslip accounted for five of the Bears’ eight 3-pointers. … Baylor improved to 14-0 against non-conference opponents.
Top Game Performances
 
South Dakota St.   Baylor
Nate Wolters 19 Scoring Pierre Jackson 18
Brayden Carlson 5 Assists A.J. Walton 3
Tony Fiegen 5 Rebounds Perry Jones III 11
Nate Wolters 4 Free Throws Made Deuce Bello 4
Nate Wolters 3 Steals Deuce Bello 2
Griffan Callahan 1 Blocks Quincy Acy 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
South Dakota St. 60 42.0 10-30 8-14 16 17 1 7 13
Baylor 68 44.2 8-20 14-20 9 31 2 6 12