NEW ORLEANS – Baylor made it look as though it was going to be so easy to sweep Old Dominion aside with a stunning display of athleticism and shot-making.

The Bears put on a highlight show in the first half of their 76-68 victory Saturday in their NCAA Tournament second-round matchup.

Point guard Tweety Carter launched three alley-oop passes that backcourt mate LaceDarius Dunn soared high to snag and slam behind a stunned Monarchs defense.

Carter, Dunn and Anthony Jones swished long 3-pointers that drew oohs from the crowd as Baylor streaked to a 14-point lead.

And when ODU cut the lead to eight shortly before halftime, Carter darted around a defender into the lane and launched a floater at the buzzer to send the Bears into halftime with a 10-point lead.

Then a slugfest broke out.

ODU capitalized on three turnovers and a miss for a 9-0 run to start the second half and a punch, counter-punch battle was on.

With 12:31 left, the Monarchs took their first lead since 1-0 and the question for Baylor was: Which of the big three is going to take this game over?

Carter? Dunn? Ekpe Udoh?

Uh, would you believe Josh Lomers?

Say again? You mean the self-described, "big goofy white guy?"

Yeah, the guy Quincy Acy usually comes in for about three minutes into an ordinary game. The guy nobody talks or writes about.

Until Saturday.

After ODU took that 49-47 lead, the big goof scored 12 of the Bears' next 18 points to lead Baylor into the Sweet 16 at Houston's Reliant Stadium, where it will meet No. 10 seed Saint Mary's on Friday.

Could even Lomers, the afterthought 7-0, 280-pound senior with a career 4.4-point scoring average, have imagined such a day?

"You mean us winning or me playing so good?" Lomers said. "No. But I know anything can happen on this team."

Lomers' 14-point, eight-rebound, three-blocked shot, four-steal performance in the biggest game of the season so far qualifies for the anything-can-happen category.

"He was a possessed animal," Udoh declared. "I mean, he played out of his mind. He carried us in the second half."

Lomers scored 12 of his points in the eight minutes after ODU took the lead. The 14 points matched his career high. He made six of seven shots.

Lomers scored on three follow shots and converted two three-point plays. He made layups off feeds from Carter and Dunn, who combined for 38 points – 26 by Dunn – and nine assists – eight by Carter.

"He is country strong," Udoh said of Lomers. "We know what he's capable of because we he does the same thing in practice. But For him to come through today, the biggest game of our career here, is just great to see."

It was nothing, Lomers said.

"I got position because of all the weapons we have on this team," he said. "You've got to help off, because you can't guard anybody on our team one-on-one. ... When [ODU] helped off, it gave me good rebounding position and I ran with it."

Lumbered would be a more apt description of Lomers' stride, but let's give the guy a break.

"As a coach you couldn't be more pleased for someone who is so humble and does all the little things," coach Scott Drew said. "Things like screen, rebound and block out.

"And then, he has an asthma issue, but he never complains about that. If his minutes are low, he never complains about that. He's just a model citizen – someone who will do his job and then do anything you ask him to."

The third-seeded Bears did their job of not cratering under pressure when all about them high seeds – like No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Villanova and No. 3 New Mexico – tumbled.

"I think this was a testament to the team," Lomers said. "We have so many weapons and such unity. It helps in tight games because we're not worried about one person catching up, we're only worried about the team catching up."

Lomers gave next week's unexpected opponent, Saint Mary's, something else to worry about.

"Josh played his butt off today," Udoh said. "I hope he brings that to Houston."

You can never have too many weapons. Even the big goofy white ones.

First-timers: Baylor advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. The Bears made Final Four appearances in 1948 and 1950 and reached the championship game in 1948 before losing to Kentucky.

But back in that era, there was no Sweet 16 since only eight teams made the NCAA tournament.

Honored guests: Sitting behind Baylor's bench was Scott Drew's younger brother, Bryce Drew, and former LSU coach Dale Brown.

Bryce Drew, an assistant at Valparaiso, is famous for a buzzer-beating shot for the Crusaders that beat Mississippi State in the 1998 tournament. Drew's father, Homer, was once an assistant under Brown at LSU and is the longtime head coach at Valparaiso.

A look at how the Bears have performed in their NCAA Tournament appearances: