Nov. 24, 1999

WACO, Texas - Baylor's Tevis Stukes scored a game-high 27 points as the Bears overcame a 16-point, first-half deficit to defeat North Carolina A&T, 92-70, in men's basketball Wednesday night.

The win improved Baylor's early-season record under first-year head coach Dave Bliss to 2-0, while the visiting Aggies fell to 0-2.

North Carolina A&T built a 29-16 lead with 7:05 left in the first half and held a 35-28 advantage at intermission. But Baylor's Stukes scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half, as the Bears shot 69.7 percent from the floor and outscored the Aggies 64-35 in the last 20 minutes.

The Bears, who led briefly early in the contest, gained the lead for good, 48-47, with14:29 remaining. Following that, Baylor built a comfortable lead, 65-51, on a 19-4 run.

"Coach Bliss came in to the locker room and just looked at us," Stukes said of halftime. "He told us we could beat this team and we needed to suck it up and go."

"There was no magic formula. I just told them to play hard on defense and push the ball up the floor. I thought we'd get our shot," Bliss said.

Much of North Carolina A&T's early success was due to a zone defense which limited Bear post Terry Black to 15 points on the night.

"We don't run a zone so we don't practice against a zone a whole lot," Bliss said. "North Carolina A&T is well-coached. They played better than us the first half. We haven't been through a period where a zone causes us trouble like that. Black was held in check by the zone."

Though the Bears were out-rebounded, 40-37, Baylor limited NC A&T to a 43.8 percent shooting night. "Our team is based on defensive effort," Stukes said. "The defense got us going."

Baylor had a huge advantage at the free throw line. BU hit 25 of 37 from the charity stripe while the Aggies hit six of 10 before the crowd of 2,385.

Baylor guard DeMarcus Minor scored 15 points to go with 12 assists. David Jones came off the bench to notch 12 points, while Black and center Ben Echols recorded 12 rebounds apiece.

"I was really impressed with DeMarcus Minor," Bliss said. "He had some good numbers and I like the way he handled everything."

The Aggies had three players score in double figures. Tarrell Robinson had 13 while Jafar Taalib and Marque Carrington scored 10 apiece.