BAYLOR (1-1) vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF (0-3)
Dec. 1, 2004 - Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) - 7:00 p.m. CST

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (ESPN/KRZI 1660AM Waco)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: none
INTERNET VIDEO (BEARCAST): live stream at baylorbears.com
LIVE STATS:

THE GAME
Baylor hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff Wednesday, December 1, at 7 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center. The Bears are 1-1 on the season following a 75-61 loss to Louisiana-Monroe at home last Wednesday. Baylor, the nation's most inexperienced team, is playing with limited scholarships and with nine newcomers. Arkansas-Pine Bluff is 0-3 after a 76-42 loss to Kansas State in Manhattan Monday. Baylor marks the third Big 12 team the Golden Lions have faced in their first four games. The Bears own a 2-0 all-time series lead against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on the hardcourt.

BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Aaron Bruce ranks 3rd in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 20.5 points per game.
- Baylor is 18-0 all-time vs. teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
- Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting, averaging 9.5 3s per game.
- Baylor is 45-16 in regular-season non-conference games the last 6 years.
- Kevis Shipman leads the Big 12 with 4.0 3-pointers per game.
- Baylor's +7.5 turnover margin ranks 2nd the Big 12.
- Baylor is currently playing with 5 active scholarship players and 5 walk-ons.
- Baylor is the nation's most inexperienced team (only 1 returning scholarship player).
- Baylor's dress roster includes two players taller than 6-6 (Mark Shepherd 6-9 and Tommy Swanson 6-10). [Mamadou Diene, 7-0, to join team later this month]
- Baylor has dressed fewer than 8 scholarship players for 31 straight games [9-22 record] (since last game of 2002-2003 season).
- Over the past five seasons Baylor is 44-3 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (1-0 this season).
- Baylor teams have made at least one 3-point basket in 380 straight games.
- Two of Baylor's newcomers formerly were at other Division I schools. Sophomore Tim Bush played 10 games as a freshman at LSU in 2002-2003 and sophomore Patrick Fields was a redshirt at Mississippi in 2002-2003.
- Nine of the 12 players on Baylor's roster are Texas natives.
- Freshman Richard Hurd's older brother Lamar Hurd is the starting point guard at Oregon State.

HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew is in his second season at Baylor and owns a two-year mark of 9-22 and a career record of 28-33 (3 seasons). Drew spent 10 seasons at Valparaiso, the last as head coach after nine seasons as an assistant to his father Homer. During his decade at Valpo, the Crusaders earned six NCAA Tournament berths, including five straight from 1996-2000. An outstanding recruiter, Drew is responsible for four national Top-20 recruiting classes over the last six years. He was named the 1998-99 National Recruiter of the Year by Court Vision and helped produce what HoopScoop named the nation's sixth best recruiting class in 2001, the 10th best in 2004, the 13th best in 1999 and the 19th best in 2003.

THE ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF SERIES
The Bears and Golden Lions will play for just the third time Wednesday, and Baylor holds a 2-0 edge in the short series. The two teams met in Waco in back-to-back seasons in 1999 and 2000, both Baylor victories. The Bears won the last game 85-40 on Nov. 22, 2000.

THE ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF GOLDEN LIONS
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-3) is led by Van Holt, in his third season as a head coach, all at UAPB. His record is 5-53.

UAPB NOTES: UAPB is a Division I member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference... The Golden Lions are led by junior G Tamarius Brown, who is averaging 17.7 points and 3.7 rebounds through three games... Leading rebounder is sophomore C Jarvis Gunter at 5.3 per game, and junior G Martese Coleman averages a team-high 4.3 assists per game... Two native Texans dot the UAPB roster: Coleman, a Houston native from San Jacinto CC; and sophomore F Torian Noel from Hooks High School.

DREW vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
Scott Drew has never coached against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

BAYLOR vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
The Bears are 45-16 in regular-season non-league play over the last six seasons, including a 1-1 record this year.

BAYLOR vs. THE SWAC
The Bears own an all-time record of 18-0 against teams currently in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, most recently having defeated Texas Southern 72-59 in last season's opener. Baylor has never lost vs. SWAC teams, having played eight of the SWAC's 10 teams.

BEARS ONCE AGAIN SHORT-HANDED
For the second consecutive season the Bears are enduring short roster numbers. Baylor lost nine lettermen from last season's depleted roster (the Bears suited up between five and seven scholarship players over the season). The Bears began this season with 10 active players including walk-ons. Baylor returned just one scholarship player from last season.

NATION'S MOST INEXPERIENCED TEAM
Baylor returned just three players from it's 2003-2004 roster this season, including two walk-ons. Nine new players were included on the 2004-2005 preseason roster. Baylor is the nation's only team (and the only team in recent memory) to return just one scholarship player. The three returnees had a combined total of four seasons of experience at the Division I level prior to this season. The 2004-2005 Baylor squad includes nine underclassmen.

LOTS OF NEWCOMERS
The 2004-2005 Baylor roster includes seven newcomers and an additional two players who sat out last season. The nine new faces include three junior college transfers (junior G Kevis Shipman, sophomore G Roscoe Biggers and G/F Patrick Fields); one Division I transfer (sophomore F Tim Bush); and five high schoolers (G Aaron Bruce, C Mamadou Diene, G/F Hall Henderson, F Richard Hurd, F Mark Shepherd).

TWO NEW BEARS AVAILABLE IN DECEMBER
Baylor is without two scholarship athletes to begin the season (first four games). Sophomore forward Tim Bush transfered from LSU last season and gains his eligibility following the fall semester (eligible Dec. 16 for game at SMU). Freshman center Mamdou Diene, a native of Senegal, is scheduled to arrive on campus in mid-December.

THE LAST MEETING: BAYLOR 85 - ARK.-PINE BLUFF 40 [Nov. 22, 2000]
Terry Black scored 25 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and dished out six assists to lead Baylor past Arkansas-Pine Bluff 85-40 at the Ferrell Center. Baylor improved to 64-31 all-time in season openers. The 40 points by Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the fewest by a Baylor opponent since a 43-37 Bear victory Dec. 11, 1958 over Oklahoma State. It also marks the fewest points Baylor has allowed in a season opener since 1952. Black drained 14 points, grabbed six boards and swiped three steals in the first half to lead Baylor to a 38-19 halftime advantage. The Bears led 20-12 with 9:11 remaining in the half when Matt Sayman hit his first of three three-pointers on the night to spark a nine-point Baylor run. Pine Bluff trailed 33-19 at the 1:39 mark, but did not score again in the half. The second half was more of the same for Baylor, which shot 43.1 percent on the evening and held the Golden Lions to 26.2 percent from the field. After Pine Bluff got a 10-foot jumper from Brandon Jones 29 seconds into the second half, the Lions never got closer any closer. From there, the Bears went on a 22-9 run over the next eight minutes to put the game away. Steve Orotho came off the bench for 14 points and eight rebounds for Baylor. Sayman and DeMarcus Minor each drained 13 points to give the Bears four players in double figures. Minor also dished out a game-high seven assists. Jones led Arkansas-Pine Bluff in scoring with 16.

LAST TIME OUT: LOUISIANA-MONROE 75 - BAYLOR 61
The undermanned Bears shot 30 percent from the field and were outrebounded by 20 en route to a 75-61 loss to Louisiana-Monroe at the Ferrell Center. After falling behind 12-0 over the first six minutes, Baylor battled back to tie the game eight different times but would never take the lead. After Baylor's Tommy Swanson went to the bench with his third personal foul with 16:41 left in the second half, Louisiana-Monroe put together a 9-0 run and took a 44-33 lead. The Bears closed to a single point at 46-45 fueled by Kevis Shipman's 3-pointer and a pair of 3-pointers by Aaron Bruce, who led Baylor scoring with 19 points. With just over seven minutes remaining, Shipman tied the game 50-50 with his fourth 3-pointer of the night. But the Indians never relinquished the lead and hit 11 consecutive free throws in the final two minutes to clinch the victory. Louisiana-Monroe dominated Baylor inside, outrebounding the Bears 50 to 30 and scoring 34 points in the paint to Baylor's 16. ULM opened the game with a 12-0 run, holding the Bears scoreless for almost six minutes before Patrick Fields hit a 3-pointer for Baylor. The Bears then hit 12 straight points and tied the game midway through the first half. Louisiana-Monroe led 31-29 at the half on Isaac Gay's tip-in with 10 seconds remaining.

BAYLOR'S EARLY SIGNING CLASS RATED 11th NATIONALLY
Baylor's five-man early signee class is rated the 11th-best class in the nation according to HoopScoop and is one of the highest rated recruiting classes in recent school history. The class includes three national Top-100 players and three Top-10 state recruits. The signees include four prep seniors, Henry Dugat of Dayton (Texas) High School, Curtis Jerrells of Del Valle High School in Austin, Texas, Kevin Rogers of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas and Jari Vanttaja of Oulu, Finland; as well as Tony Jones, a freshman at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas.

Rogers, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward, is rated the 35th-best recruit nationally by Rivals and Hoop Alliance and the sixth-best recruit in the state by Rivals. Dugat is a 6-0, 160-pound combo guard rated No. 69 nationally by Scout.com and the fifth-best recruit in the state by TexasHoops. Jerrells, a 6-1, 170-pound point guard, was named to the TABC 4A All-State second team. He is rated the No. 94 recruit nationally by Rivals and the No. 7 recruit in Texas by Texas Roundball. Vanttaja is a 6-10, 215-pound forward who recently averaged 14 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Finnish Junior National Team at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim, Germany. According to HoopScoop, if Vanttaja played in the U.S. he would be rated among the Top 50 high school prospects. Jones is a 6-7, 185-pound forward who redshirted the 2003-2004 season at Hill College and will have three seasons of eligibility at Baylor.

BAYLOR EARLY SIGNEES:Name        Pos.    Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Schools)Henry Dugat G   6-0 160 Fr. Dayton, Texas (Dayton HS)Curtis Jerrells G   6-1 170 Fr. Austin, Texas (Del Valle HS)Tony Jones  F   6-7 185 So. San Antonio, Texas (Taft HS/Hill College)Kevin Rogers    F   6-8 220 Fr. Dallas, Texas (South Oak Cliff HS)Jari Vanttaja   F   6-10    215 Fr. Oulu, Finland (South Tapiola HS)

DEPARTED PLAYERS
Nine lettermen from Baylor's season-opening 2003-2004 roster are not on the 2004-2005 edition. With those departed players the Bears have lost 88.8 percent of their scoring and 86.4 percent of last season's rebounding. Gone is Baylor's all-time games-played leader Matt Sayman, the USBL's No. 1 draft pick R.T. Guinn, talented All-District honoree Terrance Thomas, the scoring of third-team All-Big 12 selection Harvey Thomas and 22-game starter Carl Marshall. Four players left due to graduation/expired eligibility (Guinn, Robbie McKenzie, Sayman, T. Thomas), three transferred (Will Allen, Corey Herring, Marshall), one left to play professionally (H. Thomas) and one was dismissed from the team (Ellis Kidd Jr.).

FERRELL CENTER'S 17th YEAR
The Bears are in their 17th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center this year. Baylor is 1-1 at home in 2004-2005 and owns a 143-101 all-time record in the arena, which opened in November 1988. The Ferrell Center is a golden-domed structure that seats 10,284 for basketball games.

BAYLOR GAMES ONLINE - AUDIO AND VIDEO (BEARCAST)
A live audio stream of all Baylor basketball games can be heard on BaylorBears.com at no cost. Live video (BearCasts) is available at BaylorBears.com; all home games that are not scheduled to be televised will be streamed. BearCast subscriptions are $6.95 a month or $49.95 annually. Single-game basketball fees are $0.95 for an annual BearCast subscriber, $1.95 for a monthly BearCast subscriber or $4.95 for non-BearCast subscribers.

NEXT UP...
Baylor will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.