NEU » last year, with Okafor picked third by

WACO, Texas -- Baylor has touted itself as the nations top offense for the past three years, and with good reason.The Bears have led the country in scoring and yards per game over that span, so it was strange for the home fans to see them sputter in the first half, without a touchdown while locked in a low-scoring tie with SMU.No. 23 Baylor finally reached the end zone with its opening march of the second half, igniting a 20-point third quarter on the way a 40-13 rout of the Mustangs on Saturday.Seth Russell threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score following the 6-6 halftime tie, and the Bears went on to a 13th straight victory over their former Southwest Conference rival.Give it to SMU, Russell said. They were flying around on defense. They were giving us things we hadnt really seen them do, and they have some really good players on their team. Theyre going to do a great job in their conference. Theyre going to be a tough team to beat.Baylor missed on several deep shots in the first half, but Blake Lynch capped its opening march after halftime by breaking free in the right seam for a 31-yard touchdown reception from Russell, who added a 19-yard scoring burst on a scramble on the Bears next possession. Russell was 26 of 47 with two interceptions.Orion Stewart intercepted two passes for Baylor. The first was in the end zone to stop a promising SMU threat, and he returned the second 33 yards for a touchdown to push Baylors lead to 26-6.Redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Hicks, who was a high school classmate of Stewarts in Waco, made his first career start for SMU (1-1) in place of senior Matt Davis, who left last weeks win over North Texas after taking a hard shot to the midsection and was listed as a game-time decision during the week.Hicks helped the Mustangs to 405 yards total offense, but he was intercepted three times -- twice in the end zone -- and SMU scored only one touchdown in five trips inside the 20.I talked to (Stewart) a little after the game and during the game, Hicks said. I wish I didnt throw it to him all night, but thats just how it goes sometimes. Ill bounce back, and Orions a great player.SMU outgained Baylor 184-32 in the first 10 minutes, but got just two field goals from Josh Williams.Baylors Blake Lynch lost a fumble into the end zone that SMU recovered on the best scoring chance in the first half. On the opening drive of the second half, he lost his defender on a hitch-and-go for an easy 31-yard score.Russell finished 26 of 47 with two interceptions.Hicks threw for 144 of his 229 yards in the first quarter, and connected with Courtland Sutton for SMUs only touchdown, a 20-yarder, in the third quarter.I felt like our guys deserved to be in that moment, SMU coach Chad Morris said. Im extremely excited about the direction of where our football program is going.POLL IMPLICATIONSFlorida dropped out of the Top 25 following an unimpressive win over UMass last weekend. The Bears probably spared themselves the same fate by outscoring the Mustangs 34-7 in the second half.THE TAKEAWAYSMU: The Mustangs were much more competitive than they have been in their last three meetings with Baylor in which they were outscored 160-45. But they still have a long way to go to compete with ranked teams. SMU gets another shot in a visit from No. 15 TCU on Sept. 23.Baylor: Its a sign of how strong the Bears offense has been in recent years that it gained more than 500 yards and still didnt look sharp for much of the game. Baylor turned the ball over three times and was 8 of 21 on third down, but still had plenty of firepower to pull away in the second half.UP NEXTSMU: The Mustangs schedule lightens up next week when they welcome FCS school Liberty to Dallas for their home opener.Baylor: The Bears have a short week before playing their second Friday night game of the season and first road contest against Rice.---Online: AP College Football website www.collegefootball.ap.org Clyde Drexler Jersey . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Terry Porter Jersey . 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MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota is the NBAs youngest team, averaging 23.6 years of age, yet the youthful Timberwolves entered the season with the hope of finally breaking the franchises long playoff drought.The Wolves, however, arent jelling quickly under new coach Tom Thibodeau, and a Tuesday home loss to the Charlotte Hornets didnt sit well. They will try to turn it around Thursday when they play host to the Philadelphia 76ers.Minnesota (3-7) had won two of three games before Tuesday, and the offenses performance was among the best in the league. Then the Hornets pulled away with a big second half to beat Minnesota, leaving the Timberwolves development as a postgame topic.We could use youth as an excuse forever; your opponent doesnt care that youre young, Thibodeau said. Weve got guys whove been in the league for a while now, were making mistakes that never should be made -- from fouling jump shooters, reckless passes, turnovers -- its all decision-making.The 76ers (2-9) know youthful mistakes, too. Philadelphia, the fourth-youngest team in the league, opened the season with seven straight losses. On Wednesday, the 76ers won for the second time in four games as they held onto a big lead at home to beat the Washington Wizards 109-102.Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said there was just a poise level that was fantastic.The 76ers shot 54.5 percent and had 30 assists (on 42 field goals), both season highs.Just resilient, forward Richaun Holmes said. Just determined to do anything we had to do to get a win, and we are able to stick it out to the end against a tough Washington team. Were getting better.Holmes knocked down a 3-pointer in the final minutes to help finish off the Wizards on Wednesday. Jahlil Okafor scored a season-high 19 points before fouling out. Philadelphia rested rookie center Joel Embiid, its leading scorer and rebounder who missed the past two seasons following a pair of foot surgeries.Embiid is expected to play Thursday. Brown will have both of his young centers at his disposal. Okafor is expected to play and be limited tto 16 to 20 minutes.ddddddddddddIt was my teammates talking to me, Coach Brown challenging me before the game to attack, be aggressive, make good decisions; and it really benefited me, Okafor said.Embiids absence for the home game before leaving for a road trip caught some by surprise.Its just the rhythm that the medical staff has put him on, Brown said. And I think you look back -- back-to-back-type games and those types of things, with the time in between, they felt like ... if we had a choice, this game was going to be it. So I follow the marching orders of smarter people than myself.Embiid will be needed on the road at Minnesota. The 76ers have lost 20 straight games on the road, equaling the second-longest road slump in team history.Okafor should match up occasionally with Minnesotas Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns was drafted No. 1 overall by Minnesota last year, with Okafor picked third by Philadelphia. Towns has lived up to the top-draft status and is averaging 22 points and eight rebounds per game this season.However, Towns took Tuesdays loss to Charlotte particularly tough.I just have to play better, Towns said. All these losses, they fall on me. Its something Ive got to control. Its something that Ive got to be able to help us as much as possible. Third quarter, Im just not doing enough for us, and Ive got to do better.Minnesota is the leagues top-scoring team in the first quarter but the worst in the third period. The Timberwolves were outscored 36-17 in the third by the Hornets.Thibodeau was asked if Tuesdays loss was a step back for his young team.Its the commitment to improve and to learn, to not repeat the same mistakes over and over again, Thibodeau said. A big part of learning is trial and error, so when you go through something and it doesnt work, you should learn from it; the second time around, it shouldnt be the same way. That has to change. That has to change, and it has to change fast. ' ' '