Baylor stays hot in Big 12 Tournament

OKLAHOMA CITY, March 14 (UPI) -- LaceDarius Dunn put Baylor in front for good with 1:12 remaining Thursday and the Bears went on to stun Texas 76-70 in the Big 12 Conference semifinals.

The ninth-seeded Bears have beaten Nebraska, 11th-ranked Kansas and Texas on consecutive days to reach the conference championship game for the first time. Baylor also ended a 24-game losing streak against the Longhorns.

Baylor would earn a very unexpected trip to the NCAA Tournament with a victory Saturday over Missouri. The 15th-ranked Tigers reached the title game by pulling away late for a 67-59 victory over Oklahoma State.

The Bears cut a 10-point deficit late in the first half to six at the break, and then caught up by scoring 10 straight points early in the second half. It was a close battle the rest of the way, but Dunn's 3-pointer with 72 seconds to go gave the Bears the lead and they protected the advantage by making 7-of-8 foul shots over the last 36 seconds.

Kevin Rogers scored 20 points for Baylor (20-13), Henry Dugat had 17 and Dunn 16. Texas was paced by A.J. Abrams with 20.

Missouri (27-6) was led by Zaire Taylor with 19 points while keeping alive its hopes for a first conference tournament championship.

Oklahoma State led by as many as seven in the first half, but Missouri cut its deficit to three early in the second period and then went on a 10-1 run. The Cowboys' hopes were reduced when they missed their first 16 attempts from 3-point range.