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Category: College

Bearcats use big 2nd half to defeat Central Methodist

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It took a total team effort, as the Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team fought off a gritty Central Methodist squad for a 79-59 win Saturday afternoon in non-conference action from Bearcat Arena.

Northwest improved to 9-2 on the year in the final non-conference game of the season for the Bearcats.

A back-and-forth first half saw five lead changes as it concluded in a 35-35 tie. The first 20 minutes also saw both teams commit double digit turnovers before the Bearcats’ inside presence and the return of a hot shooting Alex Sullivan helped Northwest eventually pull away for the win.

Sullivan knocked down four three-pointers as 15 of his team high 18 points came in the second half.

The Bearcats also outscored Central Methodist 36-13 in the paint and made the most of their opponent’s miscues, scoring 28 points off turnovers compared to the Eagles’ 13 points.

CMU got an outstanding performance from Melvin Tillman who helped keep the Eagles within reach as he knocked down six three-pointers. Tillman would finish with 25 points leading all players.

However, Tillman’s effort would not be enough, as a 15-2 run to start the second half helped pace the Bearcats to their ninth straight win. The win also extend their home court winning streak to eight games as Northwest has now won 22 of their last 23 games inside Bearcat Arena.

Sullivan hit his second three-pointer with 16:50 left in the game to start the run as Tyler Funk followed with a wide-open trey seconds later. Funk was one of three players for the Bearcats to finish in double figures with 10 points while Grant Cozad finished with 13.

From there the Bearcats opened up the lead to double digits when a Matt Wallace steal and behind-the-back-pass to a cutting DeAngelo Hailey gave Northwest a 13 points lead (61-48) with just over 10 minutes left in the game. Wallace narrowly missed a double-double as the sophomore finished with nine points and eight assists in the win.

Northwest would go on to lead by as many as 20 points late in the second half shooting their second highest percentage from the field this season. The Bearcats shot 57 percent from the field in the game (60 percent in the second half) as they locked down on defense holding the Eagles to only 34 percent shooting in the second frame.

The Bearcats return to MIAA action Thursday as they hit the road for six of their next seven games, starting at Missouri Southern. Action from Joplin is slated for 7:30 p.m. as Northwest continues its road swing at Pittsburg State next Saturday in a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Mizzou blows late lead and falls at UCLA in OT

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Shabazz Muhammad hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:01 left in overtime to help UCLA upset No. 7 Missouri 97-94 on Friday night and extend the Bruins’ winning streak to five games.

Travis Wear, who finished with a career-high 22 points, added a jumper with 12 seconds remaining to close out the Bruins’ first win over a top-10 nonconference opponent since 2007.

Phil Pressey missed a 3-pointer with 5 seconds to go before Laurence Bowers grabbed the rebound and missed a 3-pointer in front of the Tigers’ bench as time expired.

Muhammad tied his career high with 27 points, David Wear scored 16, Jordan Adams had 12 and Larry Drew II added 12 assists for the Bruins (10-3). They came in 0-2 against ranked opponents this season after losing to Georgetown and San Diego State.

Pressey finished with 19 points and a career-high 19 of Missouri’s 21 assists, including all 12 of his team’s in the first half. Keion Bell and Bowers had 17 points each, Earnest Ross added 16 and Jabari Brown had 14 for the Tigers (10-2). They were playing their first true road game of the season but had a vocal group of fans on hand at Pauley Pavilion.

The Tigers made a season-high 12 3-pointers, including four by Brown. As the nation’s top rebounding team, they controlled the boards, 50-36.

Adams’ layup tied the game at 88 with 11 seconds to go in regulation. The Bruins were forced to foul, and Adams grabbed Pressey and flung him to the ground with 4 seconds left. Pressey lay briefly before getting up.

After a timeout, Brown’s jumper missed and Travis Wear came up with a block when Bell went for the offensive rebound as regulation expired.

The team’s traded runs in the second half, with the Bruins ending on an 11-2 spurt to force overtime. Missouri preceded that burst with 12 straight points of its own to turn a three-point deficit into an 86-77 lead, its largest since midway through the opening half. Pressey scored the first five, Bell stole the ball and dunked on the fast break, and Bowers capped it with a three-point play.

Tied 47-all at the break, the Bruins opened the second half on a 16-7 run to go up 63-54. Missouri fought back from the perimeter, hitting four 3-pointers to close to 77-74.

The Bruins’ hadn’t beaten such a highly ranked nonconference opponent since Nov. 20, 2007, when they defeated No. 10 Michigan State.

The game was another thrilling chapter in the teams’ history. The Bruins beat the Tigers 75-74 in the second round of the 1995 NCAA tournament when Tyus Edney banked in the winning shot at the buzzer after a full-court dash with 4.8 seconds to play. UCLA went on to win its record 11th national championship. Edney is now the school’s director of basketball operations.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou continues to have braggin’ rights over Illinois

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After a long wait, Jabari Brown is finally feeling like part of the Missouri basketball program.

Making his first start of the season, Brown had 18 points and seven rebounds Saturday to lead the 12th-ranked Tigers to an 82-73 win over No. 10 Illinois in the annual Braggin’ Rights game.

Laurence Bowers paced Missouri (10-1) with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Alex Oriakhi added 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Phil Pressey had 12 points and 11 assists to help the Tigers win their fourth straight in the 32-year-old series.

Brown, a transfer from Oregon, became eligible after the first semester and made his initial appearance Monday in a 102-51 win over South Carolina State.

A blue-chip recruit, he made the most of his first starting assignment Saturday.

”It was fun. I’m part of the family now,” he said.

Brown anxiously watched from the sidelines as the Tigers rolled out to an 8-1 record without him. After becoming eligible, he has worked hard to make up for lost time.

”I wanted to prove I could play right away and fit in any way I can,” Brown said. ”I spent a lot of time practicing and getting used to things and the way they play here.

”Now, I’m finally feeling comfortable.”

Brandon Paul led Illinois (12-1) with 23 points. Tyler Griffey scored 14, Joseph Bertrand had 13 and Nnanna Egwu 12 for the Illini.

Missouri used a 9-0 run late in the game to take the lead for good at 70-64. The Tigers held a 58-35 edge on the boards and outscored Illinois 44-24 in the paint.

Illinois, which leads the overall series 20-12, won nine meetings in a row from 2000-08 before Missouri began its winning streak.

Brown triggered a key 9-0 spurt that erased a three-point deficit and put the Tigers ahead 70-64. He had four points and two rebounds during the 2:31 span.

Brown scored from close range off a perfect pass from Earnest Ross to increase the lead to 68-64. Pressey added a short jumper seconds later to complete the run.

Oriakhi, who had his fourth double-double of the season, was impressed with Brown’s effort.

”He’s unbelievable. He did a little bit of everything tonight,” Oriakhi said. ”I can’t believe he’s fit in so fast. He’s one of us now.”

Brown played in two games at Oregon last season before deciding to transfer. He watched last season’s Braggin’ Rights game from his home in Oakland and was intrigued by the atmosphere, which annually features a sellout crowd with the fans divided equally between the schools.

”I had visited (Missouri) and really hadn’t made a decision, but I thought, if I choose (Missouri), that’s going to be a fun game to play in,” Brown said.

Missouri coach Frank Haith was more than pleased with the performance of his new addition. He immediately moved Brown into the starting lineup after a 12-point performance against South Carolina State, in which Brown excelled defensively.

”It was all about our balance,” Haith said. ”And he can do a lot of things.”

The physical game against Illinois featured 19 lead changes, 35 fouls and 43 free throws.

”They’ve got a lot of depth and they’ve got size,” Illinois first-year coach John Groce said. ”They’re good now. They’ve got a chance to get even better moving forward.”

The Tigers scored 12 of the final 16 points in the first half to take a 41-35 lead into the break. Illinois reeled off eight unanswered points midway through the second half to go up 51-50 on a driving layup by Tracy Abrams. The Illini took their biggest lead of the second half, 64-61, on a baseline jumper by Egwu with 6:43 remaining.

But the Missouri defense took over from there, forcing seven successive Illinois misses. Brown, Ross, Tony Criswell and Pressey chipped in with key baskets.

Illinois managed only three field goals in the final 3:29.

— Associated Press —

McLemore leads Kansas to road win at No. 7 Ohio State

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It’s not supposed to be this easy for a kid playing his first collegiate road game.

Kansas’ Ben McLemore, a redshirt freshman surrounded in the starting lineup by seniors, didn’t let the raucous crowd, the travel or sleeping in a strange bed bother him.

McLemore scored 22 points and No. 9 Kansas proved it was more than just a bully at home by beating seventh-ranked Ohio State 74-66 on Saturday.

”This was great. It was my first time playing in an away game,” McLemore said with a slight smile. ”You go up and down the court a little bit, and you get into the game. I kept my intensity, I just played my game.”

For that matter, none of the Jayhawks had yet played a true road game this season. Kansas, which has won nine in a row since losing to Michigan State 67-64 on Nov. 13 in Atlanta, came in 7-0 at home, with two other games played before friendly fans in nearby Kansas City.

They had barely heard a boo all season.

No wonder coach Bill Self was a little worried.

”I had concerns, for sure,” Self said. ”Our seniors are good and quality and they’ve been through some things, but against a team that pressures man-to-man and you’re playing with one primarily (ball) handler? That was my biggest concern.”

But the Jayhawks (10-1) weathered a 14-0 run by the Buckeyes (9-2) in the first half that turned the volume up in Value City Arena to 11 on a scale of 10. Then, down in the second half, they held cold-shooting Ohio State without a field goal for more than 10 minutes to take control.

The Buckeyes, who were led by Deshaun Thomas’ 16 points and a career-best 15 by Shannon Scott, hit just 9 of 36 shots from the field in the final 20 minutes. For the game, they ended up making only 31 percent of their shots from the field.

No wonder coach Thad Matta looked so stunned when he spoke after the game.

”There was one point in the second half where I turned to the bench and I said, ‘Hey, let’s call a play where we score,”’ he said, heavy on the irony. ”A lot of it just comes down to you’ve got to put the ball in the basket in a game like this and we couldn’t do it. It became contagious.”

Sixty percent of the starting lineup – star defender Aaron Craft, usually reliable Lenzelle Smith Jr. and post man Evan Ravenel – was a combined 5 of 24 from the field.

Credit the Jayhawks, who play withering man-to-man defense and then are backed up by the incredible wingspan of 7-foot Jeff Withey underneath. Or blame the Buckeyes, who frequently were all alone when they bricked a shot off the rim. But no matter the reason, Ohio State couldn’t buy a bucket for most of the second half.

It was the third victory for the Jayhawks in little more than a year over the Buckeyes (9-2). Kansas won a 64-62 thriller in last year’s NCAA semifinals.

”Today’s probably the best we’ve played against Ohio State in the three games,” Self said. ”We were really good except for about a 3-minute stretch in the first half when they went on a (14-0) run. Other than that stretch, that was a pretty good 35 minutes we played out there.”

Withey added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks. Elijah Johnson had 13 points and Travis Releford 11.

They weathered Ohio State’s first-half tear by relying on the seniors.

”We have a good group of vets and we’ve been in tough situations before,” Withey said. ”We just bounced back. We just had to kind of breathe a little bit.”

Ahead 56-52 with 7 minutes left, Kansas pulled away thanks to its McLemore. He hit a pair of foul shots and then flipped in a 15-foot jumper that bounced not once, not twice, but three times before falling through. Off an inbounds pass, McLemore then came off a back pick and dunked to push the lead to 62-52 with 5 minutes left.

The Buckeyes never got closer than six points again.

Self said he found out a little more about McLemore in the game.

”There’s a lot of stuff I’m curious about Ben,” he said. ”He’s still trying to figure out how to play. You can tell in late-game situations, he’s played less basketball than anybody that’s as old as him and as good as him around. It’s all new to him. When it all comes naturally to him, he’s going to become terrific.”

In his first road game, he already was.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State upsets No. 8 Florida

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Leave it to the kid from suburban Kansas City to help Kansas State finish off a banner day for the college hoops programs that the city calls its own.

Will Spradling had the best game of his career with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, and the Wildcats upended No. 8 Florida 67-61 on Saturday night. Their win followed No. 9 Kansas’ victory over No. 7 Ohio State and No. 12 Missouri’s win over No. 10 Illinois earlier in the day.

”Whenever you’re shooting it well – you see the ball go through the net – it brings confidence to you and for your team as well,” said Spradling, a junior guard from Overland Park, Kan. ”This is probably my best all-around performance that I’ve had.”

No doubt.

Spradling didn’t even commit a turnover in 39 minutes.

Rodney McGruder added 13 points and Jordan Henriquez had nine points and five blocks for the Wildcats (9-2), who watched a 10-point halftime lead evaporate before clamping down against one of the nation’s top defensive teams and then pulling away in the final minutes.

”We were in tune with one another. We wanted this game,” McGruder said. ”Our preparation for Florida was great, tremendous. The past couple practices guys were getting after one another.”

Patric Young had 19 points for the Gators (8-2), including two with just over 2 minutes left that got them within 58-55. But that’s when Shane Southwell knocked down a 3 from the corner, and McGruder made two free throws with 1:05 left to create some breathing room.

Kansas State held on from the foul line for its first regular-season, non-conference win over a top 10 team since defeating No. 8 Minnesota on Dec. 21, 1981.

”They were just a step ahead of us, a step quicker. We were late,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. ”We let Spradling get loose several times on 3-point shots. We gave up some offensive rebounds. We had just a couple plays there where we were just late on some things.”

Kenny Boynton and Scott Wilbekin scored 11 each for the Gators, whose only other loss came at then-No. 8 Arizona. Leading scorer Mike Rosario was held to five points on 1-of-9 shooting.

The Wildcats have been struggling in new coach Bruce Weber’s motion offense, and it showed in sloppy, lackluster losses to No. 2 Michigan and No. 14 Gonzaga. But they finally managed to get it clicking just enough against one of the nation’s premier defenses.

”Just a heck of an effort by our guys,” Weber said. ”The thing I challenged them with is we had to compete for 40 minutes, just to give ourselves a chance. Against Michigan, against Gonzaga, we only competed for 20.”

It was defense that ruled this one from the start.

Kansas State built an early lead by turning over Florida twice in the opening minutes, and the Gators responded with a 9-2 surge in which they twice scored off turnovers in transition.

Kansas State eventually settled down on offense.

McGruder’s basket with just under 5 minutes left made it 26-19, and after the Gators’ Michael Frazier curled in a 3-pointer for his only basket, Kansas State rattled off seven more points that helped it take a 33-23 lead into the break.

The lead was built on the Wildcats out-defending the nation’s No. 1 defense.

”Our guards made some very poor plays in the first half in terms of our ball movement,” Donovan said. ”We were very insistent on driving the ball and taking runners and floaters in the lane. … We had guys open all over the place. All we had to do was make the extra pass.”

Florida started to make that extra pass early in the second half.

The Gators scored on their first six trips down the floor and put together a 12-3 run that allowed them to wipe out almost the entire deficit. Boynton’s 3 with 13:10 left drew them even at 41-all, the closest they’d been since leading 19-17 midway through the first half.

”I just said, ‘We’ve been here before,”’ Weber said. ”You get a point where the other team comes at you and do you lay down or do you step up?”

The Wildcats kept stepping up.

Rosario’s first basket, a 3-pointer with 10:42 left, was matched by McGruder’s jumper. A bucket by Wilbekin was matched by a 3-pointer from Kansas State’s Martavious Irving, and slowly the Wildcats extended the lead back to 57-47 with 5:20 left.

Things were going so well for Kansas State that Henriquez, who had been 2 for 19 from the foul line, stepped up and calmly knocked down four straight free throws.

”When I hit those four in a row, it felt good,” he said. ”I felt good.”

It was a feel-good night all-around for the Wildcats.

They wound up shooting 41.7 percent from the field against a team that had been holding opponents to 49.6 points per game. The Wildcats also ended up with a 36-27 advantage on the glass and committed just 10 turnovers against the Gators’ intense man-to-man defense.

”This was a great win for our team, great win for our staff, a great win for our league,” Weber said. ”This was a great win for us.”

— Associated Press —

MU’s Pressey named to Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award watch list

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The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the watch list of candidates for the 2013 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award and Missouri junior and 2012 finalist Phil Pressey is once again on that list.

Pressey has been one of college basketball’s top point guards since joining the program in 2010 and is on pace to become Mizzou’s career leader in both assists and steals.

Pressey leads the Southeastern Conference in assists this season at 5.8 per game and has helped the Tigers to a No. 12 national ranking early in his junior season.

Pressey is the lone returning player from Missouri’s 30-5 campaign a year ago and has the club off to a quick 9-1 start leading into Saturday’s Bud Light Braggin’ Rights Game against No. 10 Illinois at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Game time is slated for 5 p.m.

— MU Sports Information —

Griffons fall to Lynn for fourth straight loss

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The Missouri Western men dropped its fourth straight game closing out the 2012 season with an 88-80 loss against Lynn University on Wednesday night. Cedric Clinkscales scored a game-high 23 points for the Griffons as they fall to 4-6 on the season.

Despite shooting 60 percent from the field in the first half the Griffons still found themselves down 48-41 at the half. The Knights jumped out to an early 10-3 lead and built a 12 point lead at 48-36 with 1:38 remaining after a Pavle Raickovic layup. MWSU used a Clinkscales three point play and a James Harris layup cutting the lead to seven at the half.

The Griffons were led by Clinkscales in the first half with 10 points while they made 7-of-15 long range shots as a team. Dzenan Mrkaljevic, Alex Tuluka-Mfumupembe and Harris all made two three’s in the half.

Lynn shot 50 percent from the field and 69.2 percent from the charity line. Brandon Smith scored 10 points in the first half while three other Knights recorded nine a piece.

The Griffons rallied after the half cutting the deficit to two at 15:31 after a jumper by Reed Mells at 53-51. Lynn answered back with a 12-4 run and the visitors were unable to recover as the clock ran out. Lynn’s biggest lead came at 4:53 after a layup from Slobodan Miljanic for the 82-65 lead and hung on for the eight point win.

The Griffons shot 52.7-percent (29-55) in the game and made 11-of-28 long range shots. Mells and Tuluka-Mfumupembe dumped in 11 and 10 points respectively. Mrkaljevic and Mells dished out six assists apiece.

LU shot 54.2 percent from the field in the second half while the Griffons shot 46.7 percent. The Knights tallied 33 rebounds, 11 of them being offensive. The Blue and White shot 92.9 percent from the charity line in the second half. Lynn averaged 51.9 percent shooting from the field throughout the game. Kevin Ohen led the Knights with 16 points and eight rebounds. Lynn to 7-3 with the win.

The Griffons will have a short winter vacation before they return in January for MIAA play. The Griffons will be back in action on the road at MIAA newcomer Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla. on January 3. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Kansas football signs nine junior college players

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Kansas football coach Charlie Weis and his staff have been hard at work since the conclusion of the 2012 season. After combing the country for the last few weeks, the hard work has paid off as the Jayhawks received nine signatures for its 2013 football signing class Wednesday, the first day of the December signing period.

Weis and his staff put together one of the top December junior college classes as Wednesday’s haul included the top-rated junior college prospect in the country according to ESPN, Marquel Combs (Pierce College).

In addition to the highly touted Combs, KU added defensive line stalwarts in four-star prospect Chris Martin (City College of San Francisco), Tedarian Johnson (Hinds Community College) and Ty McKinney (Trinity Valley Community College).

The Jayhawks added two defensive backs by signing Dexter McDonald (Butler Community College) and Cassius Sendish (Arizona Western College). McDonald is returning to KU after spending the 2010-11 seasons on the team.

Kansas signed two offensive players Wednesday, both offensive linemen. Michael Smithburg (Iowa Western) and Ngalu Fusimalohi (City College of San Francisco) each signed on to be Jayhawks.

KU also added a specialist on Wednesday by signing punter/kicker Trevor Pardula (De Anza College). Pardula has experience in punting, place kicking and kickoffs.

2013 Kansas Football Signees

Player                                    Pos.    Ht.       Wt.      Yr.       Exp.    Hometown (Previous School)

Marquel Combs        DL      6-3     310     Jr.      JC       Memphis, Tenn. (Pierce College)

Ngalu Fusimalohi       OL      6-3     300     Jr.      JC       Daly City, Calif. (CC of San Francisco)

Tedarian Johnson      DL      6-3     260     Jr.      JC       Jackson, Miss. (Hinds CC)

Chris Martin             DL      6-4     260     Jr.      JC       Oakland, Calif. (CC of San Francisco)

Dexter McDonald      DB      6-1     205     Jr.      JC       Kansas City, Mo. (Butler CC)

Ty McKinney            DL      6-3     310     Jr.      JC       Weatherford, Texas (Trinity Valley CC)

Trevor Pardula         P/K     6-5     210     Jr.      JC       San Jose, Calif. (De Anza College)

Cassius Sendish        DB      6-2     185     Jr.      JC       Waldorf, Md. (Ariz. Western College)

Michael Smithburg     OL      6-3     300     Jr.      JC       Fairfield, Iowa (Iowa Western CC)

— KU Sports Information —

Western men lose opener in Florida against Barry, 68-64

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The Missouri Western men’s basketball team gave up a 16 point first half lead falling 68-64 in the first game of the Lynn Courtyard by Marriott Holiday Classic against the Barry Buccaneers. The Griffons have lost three straight falling to 4-5 on the season.

The win for Barry snapped a two-game skid moving them over the .500 mark at 4-3 overall this season.

Missouri Western built a 16 point lead twice in the fist half, but Barry whittled the gap down to nine when Aaron Martin knocked down a three-pointer with 2:22 to go. Chad Renfro canned his third triple of the first half as the buzzer sounded cutting the Griffon lead to seven at the half.

The Griffons saw its seven-point halftime lead erase quickly as Bryan Van Cott canned a triple and then scored in transition on a feed from Filip Toric drawing within two. Toric grabbed a rebound, raced end-to-end, curled the ball around his back in transition to Aaron Martin, who buried a three in the corner putting Barry ahead by three.

Missouri Western (4-5) went on a 5-0 run claiming a 44-42 lead, but the Buccaneers responded with a 6-0 run of its own, touched off when Martin canned another three with 11:04 remaining to put the Bucs up, 48-44.

Justin McCoy sank two free throws to give the Buccaneers a nine-point lead with 5:20 to go. Cedric Clinkscales dunk in transition pulled Missouri Western within five, but Van Cott hit a triple pushing Barry back up, 60-52.

McCoy sank two free throws before Griffon guard Reed Mells hit a triple with 22.3 seconds left timming Barry’s lead to 64-60. But Toric sank three of four free throws, and the Buccaneers held on to win.

Clinkscales had 14 points, and Mells 13 for the Griffons.

Martin hit five threes finishing with 15 points. McCoy had 16 points, sinking 8 of 10 free throws. Toric had nine rebounds, eight assists and six points. Van Cott scored 14 points, and Chad Renfro 14 points on 4 of 6 three-point shooting.

Barry was 7 of 15 from long range in the first half for 46.7 percent. Renfro was 3 for 3 from three-point range in the first half.

Missouri Western shot 50 percent in the first half, hitting 11 of 22 field goals.

The Griffons will play the host school Lynn University tomorrow, Wednesday, December 19 with tip time set for 6:30 pm central time.

— MWSU Sports Information —

KU rolls to big win against Richmond

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Jeff Withey had at least six inches on just about everyone from Richmond.

Little surprise that every time the Spiders slashed into the lane, Withey sent their shots right back out. And every time ninth-ranked Kansas dumped the ball inside to the 7-footer, he had to simply turn around and stuff it through the basket.

Withey finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds Tuesday night in the Jayhawks’ 87-59 rout, and the smile on the senior’s face showed that he enjoyed every minute of it.

Now, it’s time for Withey to start picking on someone his own size.

The Jayhawks (9-1) have romped to eight straight victories since losing to Michigan State on a neutral floor early in the season, but finally get their first true road test Saturday, when they visit seventh-ranked Ohio State for a marquee non-conference showdown.

”Now we’ll find out how good we are,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. ”Let’s be serious. The season starts Saturday. Now we can go up there and hopefully take a real enthusiastic team up there, hunker down, see how tough we are and find out a lot about ourselves.”

Travis Releford and Naadir Tharpe had 11 points each against Richmond, and Elijah Johnson added seven assists as the Jayhawks used an 18-0 first-half run to put the game away.

Kansas coasted in the second half to its 28th consecutive home victory.

”We played pretty well,” Withey said. ”Our scout team did a great job preparing us for it, so we knew what would happen. We knew they could shoot so we tried to take that away.”

Richmond (9-3) shot just 32 percent from the field, and was 9 of 32 from beyond the arc, settling for the outside jumper rather than test Withey’s presence in the lane.

The Spiders even struggled from the foul line – the one place where Withey wasn’t a danger to block their shot. They finished just 12 of 22 on free throws.

”We didn’t come out energetic at all in the first half. We kind of picked it up toward the end of the first half, and more toward the second half,” said Derrick Williams, who led the Spiders with 14 points. ”I felt like guys were a little hesitant to go.”

Cedrick Lindsay added 12 points, and Alonz Nelson-Ododa and Darien Brothers had 11 each for Richmond, which fared much better in its last visit to Allen Fieldhouse.

The Spiders waltzed into one of the most intimidating environments in college basketball in January 2004 and beat Kansas with a jumper in the final second. It remains one of only seven home losses in Self’s 10 seasons with the Jayhawks.

Their game Tuesday night never had the same kind of drama.

Richmond appeared stunned by the boisterous crowd of 16,300 early on, allowing Kansas to get out to a quick lead. The Spiders’ 3-point shooting allowed them to crawl within 15-11, but that’s when Johnson started the Jayhawks’ big scoring binge.

McLemore followed with a 3 and fellow freshman Perry Ellis scored inside. On the next possession, McLemore scored and went to the foul line, missed the free throw and watched as Ellis put it back for a four-point trip and a 26-11 lead with 8:20 remaining on the clock.

Withey got into the act with a bucket and then a three-point play, and Johnson finished off the 18-0 run with a couple of free throws that made it 33-11 with 4:26 to go.

”We just had some defensive slip-ups,” Brothers said. ”We let some guys get lobs. We weren’t talking or communicating. I think that was definitely the key.”

Williams, a burly junior forward, provided the basket that ended the Spiders’ 8-minute-plus drought, and two more baskets by Richmond trimmed the lead to 15 points.

It was the closest the Spiders would get the rest of the way.

Kansas answered with another four-point trip – Withey scored and missed his foul shot, and Kevin Young was there for the follow. And then with 1.5 seconds left, Releford went to the foul line and made good on both of his free throws, getting a second chance after missing the second when Williams was called for a lane violation.

The Jayhawks were merely in it for style points in the second half, at one point putting together another 18-2 run that made it 73-35 with 5:21 left. Kansas went through the motions down the stretch as it started to turn its attention toward the Buckeyes.

Kansas beat Ohio State at Allen Fieldhouse early last season before beating the Buckeyes again in the Final Four. The Jayhawks lost to Kentucky in the national title game.

”The next couple of days will be real important. The young guys will get to see what it takes to fully focus,” Johnson said. ”I definitely don’t think we’re prepared as we can be. The focus tonight was Richmond. But waking up tomorrow, the focus is on Ohio State.”

— Associated Press —

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