LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Top-ranked Kansas often struggles when it plays at Texas Tech.

Three times in the past 11 years, the Red Raiders — all before Tubby Smith came to coach Texas Tech — have beaten Kansas in Lubbock when the Jayhawks were ranked in the Top 10.

On Saturday night, the top-ranked Jawhawks held off the Red Raiders 69-59.

“It’s never a pretty game from my vantage point when we play here,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “But fortunately, we’ve been able to eke out some wins. I think the way Tubby coaches and the way that his team tries, the way they’ve improved, I think that they make it hard to beat them here.”

Frank Mason scored 17 points, and Perry Ellis had 15 in the Jayhawks’ 13th straight victory.

Mason and Ellis each had 10 rebounds.

The Jayhawks (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) built a 10-point lead early in the second half, but let the Red Raiders (11-3, 2-1) back in it with about 10 minutes remaining.

Two 3-pointers by Mason and another by Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk gave the Jayhawks a 57-50 lead with about 5 minutes remaining.

Norense Odiase scored two straight baskets to pull the Red Raiders to 58-54, but a 3-pointer by Wayne Selden Jr., a dunk by Ellis, and a basket and two free throws by Devonte’ Graham sealed the win for the Jayhawks. The Jayhawks outrebounded Texas Tech 42-26.

Ellis said his team didn’t have a great shooting night. The Jayhawks made about 42 percent of their shots.

“When that happens, the key is defense,” he said. “And we started getting a lot of stops. And that’s what got us over the hump.”

Odiase scored all his 14 points in the second half for the Red Raiders.

Wayne Selden’s 3-pointer late in the game came right as the shot clock expired and seemed to take the wind out of the Red Raiders.

Kansas got the ball inside more to start the second half, getting 10 points in the paint in the first 5 minutes to take a 39-29 lead.

But Texas Tech kept close off back-to-back field goals — a 3 and a 2-point basket — by Toddrick Gotcher. His field goal started a 9-0 run, during a more than 4-minute drought by the Jayhawks, that tied it at 44 with 10:21 remaining.

Smith said several things were the Red Raiders’ undoing.

“A lot of things did us in tonight,” he said. “We didn’t rebound the ball. We didn’t defend in the second half like we should. And you put that together with free throw shooting, that’s a remedy for a loss.”

Both teams got the ball inside, each getting 26 points in the paint but the Red Raiders, despite being outrebounded, had 11 second-chance points to seven for Kansas.

The Red Raiders got only 11 points off of the Jayhawks’ 15 turnovers.

Ellis was 7 of 16 from the field, one of those a 3-pointer.

The Jayhawks’ 69 points were a season low and about 20 points shy of their season average.

Kansas led 29-27 at halftime. Both teams shot poorly from the field. The Red Raiders were cold from the free throw line, going 7 of 14. The Jayhawks made seven of their eight attempts.

FAMILIAR JAYHAWKS

Smith faced Kansas five times when he coached Kentucky, winning twice. Two of those meetings came in the NCAA Tournament: the second round in both 1999 and 2007.

DOMINANT BLUE

Kansas leads the series with Texas Tech 30-4 and has won 13 straight.

TIP-INS:

Kansas: The Jayhawks’ only loss came to Michigan State.

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders won 10 games in a row, including winning all eight games of a recent homestand. … Texas Tech beat Kansas in Lubbock in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

UP NEXT:

Kansas: at West Virginia on Tuesday night.

Texas Tech: at Kansas State on Tuesday night.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Despite holding the Lady Bears to their second-lowest scoring performance of the season, Kansas women’s basketball fell to No. 6 Baylor, 58-40, after a third quarter offensive surge on Wednesday evening inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas emerged from the locker room after halftime trailing Baylor by only eight points. The Lady Bears’ 30 points tied the second-lowest first half total this season, despite shooting 52 percent from the field. BU turned things up in the second half, however, connecting on its first eight field goal attempts to push the lead to 20 points and out of reach for the Jayhawks.

The Lady Bears (15-1, 2-1 Big 12) were led by the Big 12’s second-leading scorer, junior forward Nina Davis. A game-high 16 points from Davis continued her streak of double-figure scoring in every game this season, but also marked her lowest scoring performance in the last six games. Senior guard Niya Johnson and redshirt junior Alexis Jones each logged 12 points, with Johnson dishing out a game-high eight assists and Jones draining Baylor’s two long-range buckets of the night.

Sophomore guard Chayla Cheadle brought the energy all night for the Jayhawks (5-9, 0-3 Big 12), leading the team in both points (12) and rebounds (6). The Columbia, Missouri native shot 2-of-7 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, while also grabbing three of Kansas’ four offensive rebounds. Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen tallied nine points and three rebounds. The only Jayhawk to shoot 50 percent or better was freshman guard Kylee Kopatich, connecting on 3-of-6 attempts.

It took two and a half minutes for either team to score, before Davis rattled in a jumper to get the Lady Bears on the board first. By the first media timeout at the 4:53 mark, the Jayhawks forced four Baylor turnovers and trailed by a single point. Out of the break, four-straight made field goals helped the Bears take off on an 11-2 run to push their lead to 17-4. Kansas answered by claiming the last five points of the first quarter to bring the score to 17-9 after the first ten minutes of play.

Freshman guard Aisia Robertson gave the Jayhawks a spark on the first play of the second quarter with a steal and a fast-break layup. Baylor then collected six of the game’s next seven points, stretching its lead to 11 points. A five-point scoring streak midway through the period brought Kansas back to within six, 23-17. The conference foes remained evenly matched over the final minutes of the half, with a pair of free throws from Cheadle cutting the Baylor lead, 30-22, concluding the second quarter’s scoring.

The Lady Bears entered the game averaging more than 45 points in the paint per game, but Kansas managed to hold the visitors to just 14 points inside in the first half. Each team played tight defense over the first 20 minutes of action, forcing the other to commit 11 turnovers. The Jayhawks tallied six steals to Baylor’s four.

The second half opened with a 14-2 run by Baylor to extend its lead to 44-24 by the 4:33 mark of the third quarter. The two squads traded baskets through the remainder of the period, putting up six points each. Jones hit Baylor’s first three-point attempt of the second half as time expired, giving the visitors a 50-30 advantage. BU shot 75 percent from the field in the third quarter, sinking 9-of-12 attempts from the field to outscore Kansas by 12 points. The Jayhawks’ eight points was the lowest third quarter total this season.

Kansas continued to fight in the final 10 minutes of action, and significantly slowed down the Baylor offense. The Lady Bears shot 3-of-14 from the field as the Jayhawks outscored the conference favorites 10-8. It marked just the third time this season that Baylor was held to single-digit scoring in a quarter. Manning-Allen’s layup with less than 30 seconds left in the contest brought the score to 58-40, where the score would hold to give the Lady Bears their second conference victory.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Perry Ellis had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Devonte Graham hit the go-ahead free throw in the third overtime, and top-ranked Kansas outlasted Buddy Hield and second-ranked Oklahoma 109-106 on Monday night in an early showdown of Final Four contenders.

Wayne Selden Jr. had 21 points, and Graham finished with 20 for the Jayhawks (13-1, 2-0 Big 12), who had chances to win the game in regulation and each of the first two overtimes before finally getting it done.

Hield had a career-high 46 points for Oklahoma (12-1, 1-1), but he made two crucial turnovers in the final extra session, then missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Jayhawks celebrated.

Jordan Woodard hit six 3-pointers and had 27 points for the Sooners, who were trying to extend their best start in 28 years. Ryan Spangler finished with 14 points and 18 rebounds.

It was a fitting conclusion for the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in two years and the first pitting of teams from the same conference since Ohio State and Michigan State of the Big Ten met Feb. 25, 2007.

Woodard’s final 3-pointer gave the Sooners a 106-104 lead, and they still led 106-105 when Hield was stripped by Frank Mason with 17 seconds left. Graham took a pass in transition and was fouled at the other end. He then converted both free throws to give Kansas the lead.

After the Sooners called a timeout, Hield threw the ball away on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Mason added two more free throws with 8.6 seconds left for the final margin.

Hield finished 13 of 23 from the field, with eight 3-pointers. His 46 points matched Wayman Tisdale for the sixth-highest scoring game in Oklahoma history.

The Jayhawks looked like they would end the game in regulation after Hield made two free throws with 21.3 seconds left to tie the game 77-all. But after Mason charged the lane with six seconds left and missed the shot, Kansas forward Landen Lucas was called for a foul on the rebound.

Khadeem Lattin went to the line at the other end with two seconds left, but the 52 percent foul shooter clanked the front end of a 1-and-1 off the iron to force overtime.

The teams traded baskets in the extra session, and Ellis hit a 3-pointer from the wing to tie the game 86-all with 1:15 left. Both teams squandered chances to take the lead, and Selden’s open 3-pointer from the right wing at the buzzer came up short to force a second overtime.

Kansas also had the final shot in the second overtime after Isaiah Cousins missed at the rim and Spangler couldn’t get his tip to go. Mason again drove the left side of the lane, but this time he pulled up for a short jumper that was never close, and the game headed to a third OT.

The game shaped up as one between the brilliance of Hield and the balance of Kansas.

The Jayhawks controlled most of the first half, hit seven 3-pointers and twice took an 11-point lead. But every time things got comfortable, Hield put Kansas back on edge.

The senior answered with two foul shots when Kansas took a 24-16 lead, then provided a long jumper a couple minutes later. It was his 3-pointer when the Jayhawks had established a 32-21 lead late in the first half that once more changed the complexion of the game. After trading baskets, the Sooners closed the half with an 18-3 charge.

Woodard hit consecutive 3s and scored nine points during the run, but it was Hield who scored the final three from the foul line. The first two came after coach Bill Self bolted off the Kansas bench to protest a foul and was hit with a technical foul with 3.9 seconds remaining.

The Sooners slowly stretched their 44-40 halftime lead to 10 early in the second half, only for the Jayhawks to storm back before a frenzied, sold-out crowd packed inside the old fieldhouse.

As it turned out, both teams were only getting started.

TIP-INS

Oklahoma: Hield played 54 minutes, Spangler played 51 and Woodard 50. Woodard fouled out in the final seconds of the third overtime. … Oklahoma finished 16 of 33 from 3-point range.

Kansas: Ellis played 53 minutes. … Mason finished with 15 points and six assists. … The Jayhawks were 11 of 22 from beyond the arc. … The Jayhawks had 12 shots blocked by Oklahoma.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma hosts Kansas State on Saturday

Kansas is at Texas Tech on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball outscored West Virginia by five points in the fourth quarter, but could not mount a comeback, falling to the Mountaineers, 65-45, Sunday evening inside Allen Fieldhouse.

The offensive production came too late for Kansas (5-8, 0-2 Big 12) against the Mountaineers. Through three quarters of action, only four Jayhawks were in the scoring column and Kansas faced a 25-point deficit. Four more Jayhawks found the bottom of the net in the final period, but the West Virginia was able to sustain its lead for its first conference victory of the season.

West Virginia (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) saw senior guard Jessica Morton come off the bench to score a game-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 from distance. Senior guard Bria Holmes, the Mountaineers’ leading scorer in 2015-16, was held to only 13 points after entering the contest averaging 17.4 points per game. Junior center Lanay Montgomery, the conference’s leading blocker, recorded four of the visitors’ eight blocks.

The Jayhawks were led by sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge, who logged 16 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, including all three of the team’s long-range baskets. Sophomore guard Chayla Cheadle led Kansas in rebounds with seven boards after earning her fifth start of the season. Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen and freshman guard Kylee Kopatich each tallied seven points.
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Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen drives to the basket

The Mountaineers opened the game on a 9-2 run, sinking four-consecutive field goals. Each team could only connect on two of its next eight attempts, with West Virginia carrying a 14-7 lead into the final minute of the first quarter. Aldridge hit Kansas’ first three-pointer of the contest just before the end of the shot clock to cut the deficit to four, and then held the Mountaineers scoreless on their final possession of the quarter to bring the score to 14-10 after ten minutes of action.

Over the first five minutes of the second period, West Virginia tried to extend its lead with long-range baskets, shooting 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Aldridge put in her second triple and Manning-Allen matched the effort with her second layup of the day, keeping the Jayhawks within six points of WVU with five minutes left in the half.

The Jayhawks concluded the half on the receiving end of a 13-0 run, shooting 0-of-7 from the field and committing seven turnovers. The Mountaineers collected 16 points off of Kansas’ 15 turnovers in the first half, pushing their lead to 36-17 with two quarters left to play.

Kansas faced its largest halftime deficit of the season to begin the third quarter, and continued to struggle with turnovers. Three giveaways in the first five minutes of the period helped West Virginia put together a 8-0 scoring streak, as the lead reached 25 points at the 5:07 mark. Five-consecutive points from Aldridge quickly brought the score back to 46-26 with four minutes left in the quarter. A made free throw from freshman guard Aisia Robertson broke a 6-0 run from West Virginia to end the period.

After being held scoreless over the first 30 minutes of action, Kopatich found a rhythm in the fourth quarter and tallied seven points in just over five minutes. Freshman guards Jayde Christopher and Robertson, as well as junior forward Jada Brown, also recorded their first made field goals of the game in the fourth period, each with a layup.

Kansas shot a perfect 6-of-6, while holding the Mountaineers to just two points, over the last 3:24 of the game. The late offensive surge brought the score to 65-45 at the final buzzer in favor of West Virginia.

— KU Athletics —

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Kaylon Williams had 21 points and nine rebounds and No. 18 Oklahoma beat Kansas 67-44 in a Big 12 opener on Wednesday night.

Williams, who averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds over the previous five games, had nine rebounds through three quarters but missed out on a fifth double-double in six games.

Oklahoma (10-2), coming off a 10-day layoff, won its 11th straight conference opener.

Derica Wyatt made four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for the Sooners, who outrebounded Kansas 47-30 — with 15 on the offensive end. Williams made nine of the Sooners’ 27 field goals.

Oklahoma led by 10 at halftime and went scoreless for the first three minutes of the third quarter, but Kansas could not take advantage and trailed by 11 entering the fourth.

Kylee Kopatich led Kansas (5-7) with 12 points and five rebounds. The Jayhawks were limited to 18-of-58 shooting.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Rarely does Kansas step on the court and feel the least bit intimidated.

Then again, rarely do the Jayhawks face a 7-foot-6 center.

Hesitant to drive against UC Irvine big man Mamadou Ndiaye during a sluggish first half, the second-ranked Jayhawks eventually got on track, pulling away for a 78-53 victory Tuesday night in their final tuneup before pursuing a 12th straight Big 12 championship.

“We weren’t attacking,” said Perry Ellis, who led the Jayhawks with 14 points. “We needed to start driving, kicking it, getting it in the lane. We started passing it a little too much.

“The second half we just attacked,” he said, “and good things happened.”

The Jayhawks (11-1) trailed 26-22 late in the first half. But a 22-2 spurt spanning halftime allowed them to seize control, and a couple of big baskets by Ellis put Irvine (10-5) away.

“We haven’t played against length like that, and probably won’t again, but their zone was long, active,” Jayhawks guard Devonte Graham said. “It just took a little adjustment.”

Frank Mason III added 13 points and Brannen Greene contributed 10 for the Jayhawks, who have won 10 straight since blowing a second-half lead in their lone loss to No. 1 Michigan State.

The Jayhawks still have a high-profile non-conference game against No. 10 Kentucky in late January at Allen Fieldhouse, but they will first turn their attention to Big 12 play. They face No. 23 Baylor on Saturday before getting a visit from No. 3 Oklahoma two days later.

They will have to play better than they did Tuesday night.

Especially in the first half.

The interior size of the Anteaters gave Kansas fits most of the game, with Ndiaye and 7-2 Ioannis Dimakopoulos taking turns in the post. Ndiaye finished with 12 points with a couple of highlight-worthy blocks, while Dimakopoulos had 10 points.

After scoring the game’s first seven points, the Jayhawks initially struggled to keep the game the kind of up-tempo affair they favor. That gave the Anteaters’ big post players a chance to get down the court and set up on defense, and force Kansas into taking a flurry of outside jumpers.

On one trip down court, the Jayhawks missed three consecutive 3-pointers.

“The 7-2 guy didn’t even look tall after he was out there,” Kansas coach Bill Self said of Ndiaye. “We didn’t come close to attacking the first half just because he was in the game.”

By the time Dimakopoulos hit his second 3-pointer, and Jaron Martin added a bucket a moment later, the Anteaters had built a 26-22 lead with 2:06 left in the first half.

The Jayhawks’ big run began quietly when Graham hit a 3 and Kansas managed to eke out a 28-26 halftime lead. But it was Ellis who came alive early in the second half, slithering and contorting his body around Ndiaye to score at the rim — despite giving up 10 inches.

Irvine coach Russell Turner grew so incensed that he let loose an expletive during a moment of quiet that was heard throughout Allen Fieldhouse. A few minutes later, Turner was so upset with the officiating that his complaints earned him a technical foul.

By that point, Kansas was well on its way to a 30th straight win at the Phog.

“I thought they played terrific. Give them credit, you know?” Turner said. “They jumped on us at the start of the game We withstood that — I was pleased with that. And the second half, it just seemed to me we weren’t able to generate that same kind of juice.”

SHORTENED ROTATION

Self indicated he wants to shorten his rotation, and eight guys played 10 minutes or more. But top prospect Carlton Bragg played 9 minutes and five-star recruit Cheick Diallo played 8, and the bench emptied with the game out of reach.

TIP-INS

UC Irvine: Sun Bowl Invitational MVP Luke Nelson was 0 for 6 from beyond the arc and totaled eight points. … The Anteaters finished a stretch of seven of eight away from home.

Kansas: Mason had six assists. … The Jayhawks’ win streak is their longest since 2012-13, when they won 18 in a row. … Kansas had been averaging 88 points per game.

UP NEXT

UC Irvine hosts New Mexico State on Saturday.

Kansas hosts No. 23 Baylor on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Freshman guard Kylee Kopatich posted her first career double-double, but it was not enough as the Jayhawks could not hold off Oral Roberts, falling 70-63 on Tuesday night, inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas asserted control in the paint all game, recording 48 points inside to Oral Roberts’ 24, but it was not enough to overcome one of the best three-point shooting performances from a visiting team since 2013. The Golden Eagles sank 10 long-range baskets, including two in the fourth quarter that both proved to be momentum-changers for the Golden Eagles.

The Jayhawks (5-6) were led Kopatich, who ended the night with 14 points and 11 boards. The Olathe, Kansas native shot 5-of-12 from the field, 3-of-3 from the free throw line, while logging two assists and two steals.

Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen posted a double-digit performance for Kansas with 12 points, along with six rebounds and three blocks. Freshman guard Jayde Christopher made her second-career start and impacted the game with eight points and a team-leading four assists.

Oral Roberts (3-7) saw a season-high performance from sophomore guard Kaylan Mayberry, who put up 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including five of ORU’s 10 three-pointers. Sophomore guards Jordan Doyle and Bria Pitts each tallied 14 points and accounted for Oral Roberts’ five other triples. Both Golden Eagles shot 5-of-13 from the field, with Doyle also contributing three assists and Pitts pulling down seven rebounds. ORU’s 10 three-point baskets were the most since TCU hit the same mark on March 5, 2013.

After Kopatich got things going for the Jayhawks with a three-point play on their opening possession, Kansas went on a 10-2 by draining four of its first five shots. Christopher made the most of her second-career start early, finding the bottom of the net on her first three field goal attempts and assisting on a fourth basket, helping the Jayhawks claim a 14-7 lead at the 4:57 mark of the opening quarter.
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Freshman G Kylee Kopatich recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds

Oral Roberts put together a quick 6-0 run with three minutes remaining in the first period on two-consecutive three-pointers. Junior forward Jada Brown responded with two made layups before the end of the quarter to give Kansas a 22-18 lead after the first 10 minutes of action.

The Golden Eagles began the second quarter on 4-of-6 shooting, with the fourth field goal capping off a 9-4 run that saw Oral Roberts take its first lead of the night, 27-26. Kansas found itself in a back-and-forth battle, as the lead changed on four-consecutive plays in less than one minute of game time.

Kansas managed to re-establish a lead by halftime, going on an 11-0 run over the last four minutes of the period by forcing turnovers and continuing to dominate in the paint. All 15 of the Jayhawks’ two-point field goals were scored from inside the paint, accounting for 30 of Kansas’ 41 first half points. The home team also recorded a perfect 5-of-5 free throw shooting performance in the opening half, and added in two three-point baskets, the second coming just 14 seconds before halftime from redshirt junior guard Timeka O’Neal to give Kansas an eight-point lead at the break.

Oral Roberts emerged from the locker room and proceeded to sink four of its first five shots, including two long-range buckets, to quickly take a two-point lead from the 10-0 run. Kansas regained its lead on a 6-0 run of its own while the Golden Eagles missed the mark on their next six attempts.

After holding the visitors scoreless for nearly four minutes of game time, Pitts connected on her fourth triple of the night, sparking another 6-0 run to shift the momentum back to Oral Roberts. The Jayhawks put together one more six-point scoring streak before the end of the third period to carry a 55-52 lead into the final 10 minutes of action.

The third quarter saw four more lead changes between the two teams, as Kansas continued to battle inside while the Golden Eagles tallied 12 of their 19 points from beyond the arc. The Jayhawks’ 40 points in the paint after three quarters already approached the team’s season-high of 46 against Memphis on Nov. 19.

Sophomore guard Chayla Cheadle got the scoring going in the fourth quarter, with a layup to put every Jayhawk that entered the game into the scoring column. The Golden Eagles then put together a 12-0 run in just over three minutes, shooting 5-of-6 from the field, including the team’s ninth three-pointer of the night. The streak put Oral Roberts ahead by seven points with less than five minutes left in the contest.

The Jayhawks would not reclaim the lead for the remainder of the game, as KU was held scoreless from the four-minute mark until the last minute of play. Layups from Christopher and Brown in the final 30 seconds were not enough to mount a comeback, and the Jayhawks fell by a score of 70-63.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Double-figure scoring from three separate Kansas women’s basketball players was not enough to complete a second-consecutive comeback, as the Jayhawks fell to Washington State 66-53 on Sunday night, inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Despite holding Washington State’s leading scorer, freshman forward Borislava Hristova, to just six points on the night after entering the game averaging 19 points per contest, the Jayhawks endured multiple shooting slumps that ultimately proved to be the difference.

The Jayhawks (5-5) were led by sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge with 13 points, marking her ninth double-digit scoring effort of the season. All four of Aldridge’s made field goals came from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Kylee Kopatich tallied 11 points, with seven of those being earned from the free throw line, while junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen recorded 10 points and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.

Washington State’s (9-2) Dawnyelle Awa scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The senior guard drained all three of her three-point attempts on the night. Senior guard Taylor Edmondson posted 12 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

After the Jayhawks connected on their first field goal attempt of the evening, KU struggled to find the bottom of the net on their next six attempts. Kansas forced four Washington State turnovers in the first seven minutes of action, while Aldridge and Kopatich combined for four free throws to hold the Cougars’ lead to a single point at 7-6 with three minutes left in the quarter. The shooting slump extended to eight consecutive missed field goals for Kansas, allowing the Cougars to put together a 7-0 run and push the lead to 12-6. Aldridge ended the run with less than a minute left in the quarter with her first three-pointer of the contest. Two more free throws from Kopatich, just before the end of the first period, cut the deficit to one point, 12-11.

Washington State began the second quarter on a 7-1 run in less than three minutes of game time on 3-of-6 shooting. In the last three minutes of the half, the Jayhawks went on a 6-0 run behind Manning-Allen and junior forward Jada Brown, who each logged three points, bringing the Cougar lead back to one point, 28-27. WSU tacked on a jumper for the last points of the half at the 1:15 mark, to carry a three-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

Despite Washington State connecting on 12 field goals in the first half to Kansas’ seven, the Jayhawks only trailed, 30-27, by sinking 10 points from the free throw line. Freshman guard Jayde Christopher logged the only bench points for Kansas in the first half with a long-range basket, while Washington State’s bench combined for 15 of the team’s 30 points.

Both teams began the second half on 2-of-4 shooting, as the Cougars kept Kansas from eliminating their lead. Aldridge helped the Jayhawks break through at the 5:37 mark with her third triple of the contest to tie the game at 35-35. A made free throw from freshman forward Tyler Johnson gave Kansas its first lead since the five-minute mark of the first quarter. Another three from Aldridge capped off a 7-1 run to push the Jayhawks’ lead to four points, their largest of the evening.

The Cougars responded with a six-point run behind two quick three-pointers to reclaim the lead before the end of the quarter. Entering the final 10 minutes of play, the Jayhawks faced a three-point deficit, looking to pull off their second-consecutive comeback victory.

Washington State found the bottom of the net on its first two attempts of the fourth quarter, quickly establishing an eight-point advantage. Kansas did not back down, with a 5-0 run of its own to bring the game back to within three points. The Cougars put together a 13-3 run over the next five minutes of game time in response, as the Jayhawks saw the deficit extend to 13 points with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

Kansas continued to fight, as Kopatich fought through the lane for a layup and Manning-Allen sank two free throws in the closing moments of the game, but the Washington State lead was too large for the Jayhawks to complete the comeback.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Even though Kansas entered its game Saturday against Montana with the nation’s third-best scoring offense, coach Bill Self had been imploring his guys to play better on defense.

Evidently, they heard his plea.

Perry Ellis had 18 points and nine rebounds and the second-ranked Jayhawks used some stifling defense to bury the Grizzlies, 88-46.

“The big deal with us is we just have to get better from a team-defense standpoint, playing the scouting report,” said Self, whose team held Montana to 26 percent from the field. “We were fortunate they missed some shots. But still, I think we had something to do with it.”

Brannen Greene and Wayne Selden added 11 points apiece, and Svi Mykhailiuk finished with 10 for the Jayhawks (9-1), who led by 20 at halftime before coasting to their eighth straight win.

The victory in the Jayhawks’ first game at Allen Fieldhouse in 10 days was also their 29th in a row at their venerable arena. That’s the seventh-best streak in school history.

“We were overwhelmed when the ball went up, to be honest,” Montana coach Travis DeCuire said. “I think the guys fought, they kept playing, they tried their hardest to compete.”

Brandon Gfeller led the Griz (4-6) with 12 points in the first meeting between the schools since Dec. 1, 1962. But unlike that game, when Montana hung around in a close defeat, the Jayhawks made sure their hot shooting and suffocating defense would have this one over by halftime.

“We knew they were a great team, but we’ve also played some pretty good teams, and played them pretty well,” Montana guard Michael Oguine said. “We still have to come out and play hard.”

Kansas was in control from the opening tip, when Greene responded to his first start by making a 3 in the opening minute. Frank Mason III and Ellis converted three-point plays on the next two trips down floor, and the Jayhawks never trailed again.

Instead, the rest of the game amounted to a Kansas highlight reel.

There was Selden’s alley-oop pass that Cheick Diallo flushed, and Diallo’s rim-shaking dunk just moments later. There was the Selden’s nifty no-look pass that set up Carlton Bragg’s layup, and Selden’s soaring dunk along the baseline that gave the Jayhawks a 31-17 lead late in the half.

Perhaps no play trumped Mason’s when he got the ball in the open floor and went around the back with it on the drive to the basket. He scored while getting fouled and made the free throw.

“We try to get out in practice, get the ball out, rebound and push it and it works well for us,” Ellis said. “(Self) is telling us to continually push it and run.”

Powerless in grounding the high-flying Jayhawks, the Griz only made six field goals in the first half. They missed 10 of their final attempts in falling behind 44-24 at intermission.

The Jayhawks outscored the Griz 18-3 out of the break before coasting the rest of the way.

“We wanted to step out and show we’ve improved,” Ellis said. “I feel like we had a good win, it was a good game for everybody. You can take a lot of positive out of it.”

GRAHAM OFF BENCH

Devonte Graham did not start after oversleeping Saturday, so Greene got the nod. “Devonte is the starter. Don’t make a big deal out of that,” Self said. “He didn’t say his alarm clock was broke. At least he didn’t come with that one.”

UGLY SWEATERS

Kansas fans broke the Guinness World Record for largest gathering of people wearing holiday sweaters when 3,473 showed up in them. A holiday sweater is defined as “having at least one holiday themed item on it, such as reindeer, trees, snowmen or lights.” The record had been 1,175, set by Loughborough University in England on Dec. 10, 2014.

TIP-INS

Montana: Starting guards Oguine and Walter Wright and combined to go 2 of 15 from the field. … The Griz were out-rebounded, 44-26. … Montana is 4-0 at home, 0-6 on the road.

Kansas: Bragg and Graham scored nine points apiece. … Mason finished with seven points and nine assists. … The Jayhawks came in averaging 90 points.

UP NEXT

Montana: Plays its nonconference finale against Montana Western on Tuesday night.

Kansas: Tries to avenge a 2014 loss at San Diego State on Tuesday night.

— Associated Press —