Baylor makes 16 3-pointers in win at TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Brady Heslip scored 24 points while making eight of Baylor's season-high 16 3-pointers, and the Bears led throughout in a 91-58 victory over TCU on Wednesday night.

The Bears (15-9, 3-8 Big 12) scored the game's first eight points in less than 2 minutes, with Royce O'Neal and Heslip hitting 3s before Austin converted a TCU turnover into a jumper.

TCU (9-14, 0-11) never got closer than six points after that opening stretch.

Rico Gathers had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Baylor. Isaiah Austin added 14 points, including a 3-pointer for the 7-footer, while Royce O'Neal and Cory Jefferson each had 10 points.

Baylor, which took 27 shots from long range, had lost seven of eight games since beating its instate rival a month and a day earlier.

Kyan Anderson had a season-high 29 points for the Horned Frogs, the fourth time he has scored at least 20 points in the last six games. Amric Fields had 10 points.

Down 49-38 at halftime, TCU had the opening possession of the second half. The Frogs had a turnover that led to Jefferson's dunk on a pass from Austin.

When Austin blocked a shot by Anderson with about 9 minutes left, Kenny Chery got the rebound on a break and got to the free-throw line with a teammate ahead of him. Chery instead passed back to Heslip, who made a 3-pointer with Chery already getting back on defense before the ball even went through the hoop.

That made it 74-55 and was already the 13th made basket from beyond the arc for Baylor. TCU's previous three opponents -- Texas Tech, Texas and Iowa State -- combined for 13 made 3s.

Baylor last had 16 3-pointers in its opening-round NIT victory over Long Beach State last season. The school record is 20, set at TCU on Feb. 14, 1995.

TCU went more than 9 minutes without scoring in the second half, after Anderson's layup with 10:24 left got the Frogs within 68-55. The Bears then scored 23 in a row before Michael Williams made two free throws with just under a minute left.

The Bears were ranked No. 7 in the AP poll with a 13-2 record after that 88-62 victory in Waco, about 100 miles down Interstate 35. Now the defending NIT champions are scrambling to get into position for postseason play, and need every win they can get.

Injury-plagued TCU is 2-27 in Big 12 games since joining the league last season, with its only wins coming over Kansas and Oklahoma last year. The Horned Frogs lost two big men to injuries even before the season began, are waiting on two transfers who have to sit out this season and had another player who became academically ineligible after playing 14 games.