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WACO, Texas (AP) — Baylor coach Scott Drew called a timeout early in the second half after what had been a 24-point lead was trimmed to seven by Arkansas State.
The Red Wolves never got closer.
Taurean Prince hit a jumper out of the timeout and then drew a charge before Lester Medford made a 3-pointer and then assisted on a 3 by Prince as the Bears went for a 94-72 victory, their 28th in a row at home against a non-conference opponent.
"They just came out with more of an edge than we did, but we stressed it when we came out that we had to do a better job," Prince said. "We did a good job as a team turning it around."
Prince scored a career-high 25 points to lead five players in double figures for the Bears (4-1), who had 23 assists on its 29 field goals and made 26 of 30 free throws.
Arkansas State (2-4) scored the final six points of the first half, then opened the second half with an 11-2 run to get within 50-43 on a tip-in by Charles Waters before Drew called timeout.
"I probably should have called timeout a lot quicker, organized us," Drew said. "When we switched to the zone, we got a couple stops, got in transition, got a lot more active. And the good thing is we have depth, so when you go to the bench you don't lose anything. Sometimes you improve even, which is awesome."
After Prince and Medford re-ignited the Bears, they went on to build as much as a 30-point lead.
Al Freeman added 19 points, Johnathan Motley had 13 and Medford 11 for Baylor. Rico Gathers had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Anthony Livingston and Devin Carter each had 20 points for Arkansas State.
"That team just overpowers us. ... Baylor's got some weapons. They're long and they shot it really well. They shot balls over us, too physical for us around the goal," Arkansas State coach John Brady said.
Arkansas State's only lead was 3-2 on a 3-pointer by Carter just 1:24 into the game, but the Red Wolves made only 1 of 12 shots over a 7-minute span, and were down 25-12 when Medford hit a 3-pointer. A 3-pointer by Freeman made it 41-17.
"Outside of Livingston and Carter, it's a dice roll on who's going to score the ball for us. So, I need some help from a couple perimeter guys if we're going to be able to do something," Brady said. "But our biggest thing is defensively we couldn't give them enough resistance."
EARLY START: The game was played at noon local time on the Waco campus, in advance of the No. 7 Bears football team playing Friday night at No. 15 TCU less than 100 miles away. "I wouldn't say it was difficult, but I would say it was different," Freeman said. "We aren't used to playing this early."
TIP-INS
Arkansas St.: Brady, who announced earlier this month that this would be his last season with the Red Wolves, is now 112-113 in his eight seasons at Arkansas State. He is 393-329 in his 25th season overall, including 11 at LSU.
Baylor: For the fourth time in five games this season, Baylor had five players score in double figures. ... Prince and Medford combined for Baylor's first 13 points, those coming in the game's first 4 minutes. ... The Bears entered the game leading the Big 12 with 21.5 assists per game.
UP NEXT
Arkansas State plays Tuesday night at Missouri.
Baylor is at home Wednesday night against Prairie View.
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