Baylor 97, Missouri 83

Friday, March 9th 2007, 6:04 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Curtis Jerrells scored a career-high 31 points and Henry Dugat added 25 as 11th-seeded Baylor beat Missouri 97-to-83 in the Big 12 Conference men's tournament.

The backcourt combo broke a 30-30 tie by combining for 15 straight points in a two-minute span late in the opening half, helping Baylor to a 48-35 halftime lead Thursday.

Missouri (18-12) got three 3-point baskets from Matt Lawrence in the first four minutes of the second half to cut the Bears' lead to 53-50, but Dugat scored back-to-back buckets and Mark Shepherd added a hoop to run the lead to 60-50. Missouri never challenged from that point.

Aaron Bruce added 13 points and Kevin Rogers scored 12 for Baylor (15-15), which will meet third-seeded Texas in the quarterfinals tomorrow night.

Lawrence and Leo Lyons had 13 points each to lead Missouri, which may receive a bid to the NIT.