JaCorey Shepherd, a senior football player at the University of Kansas, has been selected as a recipient of the Haier Achievement Award, which is presented to deserving student-athletes for their accomplishments beyond sports. The announcement of the second of eight Haier Achievement Awards being presented this year was made by John Homlish, senior vice president, Digital Living Business Unit for Haier America, one of the world’s leading television and appliance manufacturers, and Doug Vance, Executive Director of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

“The Haier Achievement Award program creates a platform that helps bring to light those student-athletes who are reaching incredible heights in their non-athletic endeavors and serving as role models for all young people,” said Homlish. “We are excited to recognize inspiring student-athletes like JaCorey to further motivate other young people to achieve and succeed beyond their chosen sport. We commend JaCorey on all he has accomplished on the field, in the classroom and in his community.”

Shepherd, a native of Mesquite, Texas, is on schedule to graduate in May 2015 with a Bachelors degree in management and leadership with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. He is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honoree and a four-time Athletic Director’s Honor Roll member. He recently was named the Lee Roy Selmon Community Spirit Award winner and is a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. He took home the Rock Chalk Choice Award for Best Jayhawk in a Supporting Role and was the University of Kansas nominee for the 2013-14 Big 12 Conference Male Sportsperson of the Year. Shepherd is also active in the community through Big Brothers, Big Sisters where he has established a relationship with a “little brother” Christopher and at local schools where he volunteers as a reader and at carnivals, field days and football clinics.

On the field, the 5-foot-11 190-pound cornerback earned First Team All-Big 12 honors this season. He started all 12 games for the second straight season and led the Big 12 with 19 passes defended while also recording 30 tackles and a team-leading three interceptions, while only allowing two touchdown passes. Additionally, he averaged 20.9 yards on 33 kick returns.

“I am incredibly honored to receive the Haier Achievement Award,” said Shepherd. “During my Jayhawk career it has been very important to me to be as well-rounded of a student-athlete as I could be and to be recognized for my efforts is very humbling. I am proud to represent Kansas football both on and off the field and would like to share this award with my teammates who have supported me throughout my time at KU.”

Haier will officially recognize Shepherd with a plaque and certificate at an upcoming ceremony. In addition, Haier will donate $2,000 to the University of Kansas general scholarship fund and award a Haier 48-inch LED HD television to the school’s athletic department.

The first Haier Achievement Award winner was Elisha Hande, a three-year letter winner on the women’s tennis team at NC State University who maintains a 4.0 GPA with a major in economics and a minor in German. She was a finalist for the 2014 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award, and received the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) community service award in 2012 and 2013 for her work.

Student-athletes from all sports, all schools, and all divisions are eligible for the Haier Achievement Award. Members of CoSIDA and fans can nominate student-athletes at http://achieve.haieramerica.com. Haier will announce eight (8) honorees throughout the year and in mid-March invite fans to vote online for the Haier Ultimate Achievement Award winner. The winner will earn his/her school a $5,000 donation to the general scholarship fund and a Haier 40-inch LED HD television. Additionally, all fans who vote will be entered into a drawing to win a Haier 48-inch LED HD TV.

— KU Sports Information —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self rarely wastes time in practice working on free throws. Instead, he leaves it up to his guys to squeeze in the work, whether it’s arriving before or staying late, or getting a few shots up between drills.

They must be hoisting up a lot of them.

The No. 10 Jayhawks made six straight foul shots in the final 39 seconds Saturday, allowing them to hold on for a 63-60 victory over Utah in their annual game at Sprint Center.

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“We’re always shooting them on our own,” said Perry Ellis, who led the Jayhawks with 14 points, and scored the go-ahead basket on a floater with 2 minutes left.

Jamari Traylor added 13 points and Frank Mason III had 10 for the Jayhawks (8-1), who led 42-21 early in the second half before the Utes (7-2) stormed back to take the lead.

Jakob Poeltl’s basket with 4:38 left gave Utah a 55-53 advantage, but Mason scored on a driving layup moments later to knot the game. Ellis then swooped through the lane and converted his floater for his only field-goal of the second half to give the Jayhawks the lead back.

Traylor and Brannen Greene combined on the final six free throws, the last of them with 13.7 seconds left. And Utah never got a good look at tying it, settling for an off-balance 3 from 7-foot Poeltl from the corner that was partially blocked.

“You’ve seen a million games. It’s momentum,” Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “Once you start getting on that wave a bit, you feel like you belong here. Just unfortunate it took us that long to wake up.”

Delon Wright finished with 23 points for the Utes, who nearly dealt the Jayhawks’ the worst blown lead in a loss in school history. Kansas blew a 20-point lead in losing to Arizona in 2003.

“We just wanted to take it four minutes at a time,” Wright said about the comeback. “We were on a run, we locked down on defense and we played hard.”

It was a stark difference from the first half, when Kansas went on a big charge to take control. Wayne Selden Jr. started it with a 3-pointer, Ellis added his own 3 moments later, and then Kansas outscored the bigger Utes 23-2 over a stretch late in the half.

The Jayhawks managed all of it without backup point guard Devonte’ Graham, who could be out until conference play after hurting a toe on his right foot in their win over Georgetown.

Even after a thunderous dunk by Wright to close the half, Kansas still led 39-21 — despite not having a single offensive rebound over the first 20 minutes. Utah was 0 for 7 from the arc in the half, and committed 10 turnovers with just one assist.

Traylor, who returned from a one-game suspension, converted a three-point play to start the second half to give the Jayhawks’ their biggest lead of the game.

That’s when the Utes began to claw back into it.

Four players scored during a 12-0 run that made it 42-33 with just under 15 minutes to go, and Wright’s basket with 12:42 left trimmed the Jayhawks’ lead to 48-40.

Self kept burning through his timeouts, but they did about as much as a partisan crowd in lighting a fire under the Jayhawks. By the time Wright made four consecutive foul shots and Poeltl scored at the basket, the Utes had taken a 55-53 lead.

The Jayhawks remained poised, though, scoring the next six points to pull back ahead.

Then they put the game away from the line.

“If you’re going to blow a 21-point lead, yeah, I guess I liked the way we responded,” Self said with a grin. “We were good at the line.”

RARE MEETING

Kansas won the only previous meeting between the teams in 1995. That game was also played in Kansas City, though it was at Kemper Arena.

HOME SWEET HOME-AWAY-FROM-HOME

The Jayhawks improved to 25-5 at Sprint Center. It was their first trip to the site of the Big 12 tournament since last year’s semifinals, when they lost to Iowa State.

TIP-INS

Utah: Wright had 11 of the Utes’ 21 points in the first half. … Poeltl finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. … Wright also had four steals and four assists.

Kansas: Selden, Ellis and Svi Mykhailiuk were a combined 8 for 8 from the field in the first half. They combined to miss their first eight shots in the second half.

UP NEXT

Utah travels to former Mountain West rival UNLV next Saturday.

Kansas returns home to Allen Fieldhouse against Lafayette next Saturday.

— Associated Press —