Matthew Mayer poured in a career-high 18 points off the bench to join four teammates in double-figures scoring as Baylor pummeled Nicholls State 81-54 on Friday afternoon in Waco, Texas.

The Bears (3-1) led by 16 points at halftime but doubled that margin within the first six minutes of the second half, thanks to an 18-2 run and continued poor shooting by Nicholls State. The Colonels missed nine of their first 11 shots after halftime, including all six of their attempts from beyond the arc, and were outrebounded by Baylor 12-4 over the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Makai Mason, King McClure and Mark Vital each scored 11 points for Baylor, while Tristan Clark added 10 points. Vital also added a game-high 11 rebounds for the Bears.

Jeremiah Jefferson led the Colonels (2-3) with 13 points but no other Nicholls State player scored more than eight points.

Nicholls State led for the last time, 9-8, after a 3-pointer by Jefferson with 13:52 to play in the first half. The Bears then reeled off 16 of the next 19 points, with the run capped by a jumper by Mayer, over the ensuing five minutes to assume a 24-12 lead.

Baylor led by as many as 20 points in the first half on the way to a 37-21 advantage at halftime.

Mayer paced Baylor with 11 points off the bench in just 12 minutes of court time in the first half as the Bears outshot Nicholls State 45 percent-27 percent. Baylor had twice as many field goals as the Colonels, hitting 14 shots from the floor on 10 assists.

Baylor and Nicholls State share a common opponent in their next games - Ole Miss - with the Colonels traveling to Oxford, Miss. for a contest on Tuesday and the Bears drawing Mississippi when they return to the floor on Nov. 23 in the first round of the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.

--Field Level Media