The No. 4/5-ranked Jayhawks drained 15 3-pointers to defeat Northern Colorado, 109-72, inside Allen Fieldhouse on Friday night.

The Jayhawks (1-0) shot 56 percent from the field and 58 percent from beyond the arc to earn their 14th consecutive season-opening win and 43rd consecutive home-opening win at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks’ 109 points are their most in a season-opener since KU scored 113 against Longwood on Nov. 12, 2010 and the second-most ever under Bill Self.

Junior guard Brannen Greene scored a team-high 18 points off the bench on a perfect shooting night – 6-of-6 from the field, including five 3-point field goals. Greene made his first triple from at the first-half buzzer, which gave KU a 53-31 advantage at the break.

Greene was one of five Jayhawks who reached double-figure points. Senior All-American candidate Perry Ellis posted an efficient 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 20 minutes. Junior guard Frank Mason III dished out nine assists with 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from long range. Junior guard Wayne Selden Jr., added 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 23 minutes.

Northern Colorado (0-1) committed 35 personal fouls to send Kansas to the free throw line 34 times. The Jayhawks netted 26 points on 77 percent shooting from the charity stripe. The Bears, picked seventh in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll, were led by a game-high 27 points from Cameron Michael.

Junior guard Wayne Selden scored the first basket of the regular-season on a fast-break layup for a 2-0 Kansas lead. The Jayhawks didn’t look back, leading by as much as 45 points late in the game. There were no ties or no lead changes throughout.

Greene ended with the most 3-pointers, but it was sophomore guard Devonte’ Graham who started KU’s upwards shooting momentum. Graham made two treys in the first four minutes to help give Kansas an 8-2 lead. Graham finished with 13 points and eight assist in 24 minutes.

Freshman guard Lagerald Vick introduced himself to the sold-out Allen Fieldhouse crowd with an alley-oop dunk, assisted by Selden, at the 7:11 mark of the second half for his first points as a Jayhawk. Vick finished with three points in 11 minutes.

Freshman forward Carlton Bragg Jr., made his first bucket as a Jayhawk on a layup in the paint at the 12-minute mark of the first half. Bragg finished with seven points and three rebounds in 17 minutes of action.

Juniors Tyler Self and Clay Young joined senior Evan Manning on the court during the last three minutes of the game. Manning chipped-in to KU’s hot shooting night with a 3-pointer at the 1:43 mark of the second half. The basket marked Manning’s fourth career trey and 20th career point.

Kansas leads the all-time series with Northern Colorado, 2-0.

Kansas has a quick turnaround before facing Michigan State in the State Farm Champions Classic in Chicago on Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPN). Fellow blue-blood programs Duke and Kentucky compete in the first game of the event at the United Center.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Power forward Mitch Lightfoot has signed a National Letter of Intent to play men’s basketball at the University of Kansas, Bill Self announced Thursday. The Tucson, Arizona native is the first KU men’s basketball signee during November’s early signing period.

Rated as the No. 1 player to come out of the state of Arizona for the 2016 class, Lightfoot is a four-star recruit who is ranked No. 99 by ESPN100 and No. 117 by Rivals. He was named Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Division II All-State First Team selection last season at Gilbert Christian High School, as well as an all-section first team honoree.

Lightfoot, listed at 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds, averaged 17.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.9 blocked shot in leading Gilbert Christian to the AIA Division II state championship in 2014-15. He was named the player of the game in the state title contest where he scored 15 points.

“Mitch is one of those guys at 6-foot-8 that can play the power forward position and maybe even a little small forward in time,” Self said. “He gives us great versatility and is a guy that knows how to play with other good players. He will develop himself into one of the premier players in our program.”

As a sophomore in 2013-14, Lightfoot averaged 15.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots per contest and was the Southern Arizona Player of the Year and all-section first team honoree. As a freshman, he averaged 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.8 blocked shots per outing and was the only frosh named to the All-Southern Arizona team earning third team honors.

No stranger to KU, Lightfoot was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and still has many family members who live in the Kansas City area. The Lightfoot family moved to Tucson when he was six-years-old.

“He grew up loving the Jayhawks before moving out to Arizona,” Self said. “Norm (Roberts) was the point man in Mitch’s recruitment and did a great job with his family. After we got to know his immediate family and his extended family, it became very apparent he was a great fit. Everyone knew after visiting with him and his family that he was a top priority. We’re all excited to be able to work with him on a daily basis.”

Self indicated there are still some more signees ahead for the Jayhawks.

“We would really like to sign four,” Self said. “We got off to a great start when we signed Mitchell Lightfoot. We have to sign some size. Losing Hunter (Michelson), Jamari (Traylor) and Perry (Ellis) and then with a great chance of someone else will probably leave early, we’re probably looking at replacing four of our top big guys up front. Even though our backcourt are underclassmen, we anticipate that at least one of those guys will have the opportunity to maybe move on to the next level after the completion of this season.”

— KU Athletics —