Prairie View freshman Montrael Scott hit a long 3-pointer from the right side, then hit one from the left side. With another shot from beyond the arc, he had pushed the Panthers to a quick lead over seventh-ranked Baylor.
''I came out in pregame getting loose, getting warmed up. And it was on,'' Scott said. ''So I kept shooting.''
It was a lot of fun those first 4 minutes, but preseason Big 12 player of the year Perry Jones III got going for Baylor and the Bears went on to a 90-54 victory Tuesday night, their 42nd consecutive victory over a SWAC team.
The Panthers (2-6) scored the game's first eight points before Baylor coach Scott Drew called a timeout. He had a message for Jones, who had been considered a potential NBA draft lottery pick last spring before deciding against being Baylor's first one-and-done player.
''Just be a beast. Just play like I know how to play and don't be nervous out there,'' said Jones, relaying what he was told during that first break. ''Just play team ball and everything will click, and that's exactly what happened.''
The Bears (6-0) went ahead to stay after Pierre Jackson's bounce pass to Jones for a one-handed slam dunk that made it 17-16 midway through the first half. That was part of 16 consecutive points by Baylor in a 4-minute spurt when Jones scored nine points.
`It was a little emotional. A couple of guys came close to home,'' Panthers coach Byron Rimm said. ''Our freshman did a good job, stepped out and knocked down the first three 3s. ... It's a 40-minute game. You can't get too excited or too depressed how we played the first 4 to 5 minutes. We came out strong and we've got to keep that momentum.''
Scott finished with 14 points.
Demondre Chapman had 13 for Prairie View, which played the sixth of seven straight road games since opening the season with consecutive victories at home.
Jones had 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting with some high-flying plays.
The 6-foot-11 sophomore had to sit out the first five games to complete an NCAA suspension for accepting improper benefits before he got to Baylor. His six-game penalty included the Bears' finale last season in the Big 12 tournament.
After that first timeout, Jones finally took his first shot after that, making a jumper. Then after Scott's third 3-pointer, Baylor finally scored again on Fred Ellis' alley-oop to Jones, who came along the baseline for the slam.
''It's always good to have the young fella playing with me,'' said Quincy Acy, the senior who had 13 points and 11 rebounds. ''He brings a different dimension to the game. He just changes the game in so many different ways.''
The Bears reached their highest AP ranking ever after winning their first five games without Jones, who as a freshman averaged 13.9 points and 7.2 rebounds while making 55 percent of his shots.
In his first game back, Jones had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting by halftime.
''The guys made me comfortable,'' Jones said. ''We came in a little sluggish at first, but we picked up the energy and it seemed to play just like it does in practice every day.''
Jackson finished with 17 points and eight assists. Cory Jefferson had 12 points and Deuce Bello 10.
Prairie View was up 16-13 on a 3-pointer by Ryan Gesiakowski.
Acy then scored with a strong inside move on a pass from Jackson to start the 16-0 run, before rebounds on three consecutive Prairie View misses that led to Baylor points. The first was Jackson's bounce-pass for Jones.
Anthony Jones then had a 3-pointer before Jackson flipped an overhand pass to Perry Jones streaking through the lane for another slam while being fouled before adding the free throw. By time Jones drove hard for a layup between two defenders and made another jumper, the Bears led 29-16.
