January 30, 1999

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Freshman Keyon Dooling had 22 points and outscored Baylor for most of the first half in Missouri's 73-55 victory Saturday.

Dooling, a heralded recruit making just his third start at point guard, had 17 of his points in the first half as the Tigers (15-4 overall, 6-2 Big 12) rolled to a 42-19 lead. He made six of 10 shots, was 9-for-10 at the line and added four assists and three steals.

More impressive than the raw numbers was the way the 6-3 Dooling took control. He used the crossover dribble twice on one drive through the Baylor defense for an uncontested layup, left the crowd gasping on some of his passes and had three dunks for the second straight game.

Eight of Dooling's points came in a 22-2 run over a seven-minute span midway through the first half that turned a two-point game into a 34-12 blowout. Missouri had three straight steals in one sequence, and Baylor had seven of its nine first-half turnovers during the run.

Dooling topped his career high of 19, established only Wednesday in a victory over Kansas State, on a 3-pointer with 12:04 left. He has quickly reduced his benching at Colorado Jan. 16 to footnote status.

Baylor (6-15, 0-8) has lost eight in a row and is winless in 1999. The Bears shot 22.2 percent in the first half and didn't pull ahead of Dooling until Leon Morris made two free throws with 2:25 to go in the half to make it 40-16 for the game, and 16-15 Baylor vs. Dooling.

Brian Grawer added 14 points and hit four 3-pointers for Missouri, which led by as many as 31 points in the second half and has won three in a row. John Woods added 10 points and Albert White had 10 rebounds.

Baylor's leading scorer and rebounder, Kish Lewis, drew three early fouls and wasn't a factor. Lewis finished with 14 points, his average, but had only four points and one rebound in the first half. Jamie Kendrick also had 13 points and Morris had 10 points.