Jackson and Collins each over 20 points as KU rolls on opening night, 107-78

By Ryan Greene     Nov 9, 2007

Final, KU wins 107-78

Rodrick Stewart made one of his two free throws, followed by Tyrel Reed hitting his third three of the game to make him the fifth Jayhawk in double figures on the night with 11 points. That set off a 2:31 stretch of simply running down the clock.

The night was filled with a well-balanced scoring attack from KU, with seven players scoring at least eight points.

Sherron Collins led all scorers with 22 points , including four threes, while Darnell Jackson scored a career-high 21 points in a variety of ways – such as with baseline jumpers and highlight-reel dunks.

Darrell Arthur scored 11 points and had six rebounds, and freshman Tyrel Reed had 11 also, including three three-pointers. Russell Robinson had 10, paced by a pair of early threes.

KU was 12-of-23 from three on the night, while ULM tried the same route to stay in the game, going just 9-of-24. Tony Hooper had 19 for ULM, while Jordan Payne had 17.

KU plays again Sunday night in Allen Fieldhouse against UMKC. That game tips at 7:00 p.m.

3:03, second half, KU leads 101-68

Darrell Arthur drew a foul just before the timeout, and hit one of two charities out of the break. Jordan Payne extended his nice second half with another three, keeping ULM within 30 points.

After an offensive foul on Sasha Kaun, Jonas Brown came down to score for ULM, but it’s all too little too late with KU up handily, 92-64.

Kaun came back to spin and score two in the paint, giving him eight points as KU’s scoring has been well-spread on the night. Seven Jayhawks have at least eight points on the night.

Jeremy Case scored his first points of the game after KU got the ball back yet again, giving the Jayhawks a 96-65 advantage. A loose ball going out of bounds after that led to most of the Jayhawk regulars being pulled from the game, with a lineup of Jackson, Aldrich, Case, Reed and Stewart.

Tony Hooper was then fouled while putting up a three, making it the second time on the night KU fouled a shooter hoisting a three. Hooper hit all three, giving himself a team-high 19 points on the night.

Jeremy Case then spotted up for a three to put KU on the cusp of a hundy at 99-68. Darnell Jackson put them right over it at 101-68 on an easy layup off an athletic Tyrel Reed save out of bounds.

7:41, second half, KU leads 91-49

Jordan Payne hit a long two for ULM out of the timeout to make it 80-50, but KU at that point pretty much had the game in hand, despite a Lance Brasher layup on top of Paynes score.

Tyrel Reed came down to hit his second three of the game and give himself eight points on three-for-three shooting, putting KU back up by 31 points. He was then whistled for his second foul of the game on the other end.

Brandon Roberts came back to hit a two for ULM, but it was answered by Sherron Collins going from three-point range again, giving him 19 points on the night to match Darnell Jackson’s game-high.

Collins then went downtown again, this time following a Rodrick Stewart steal from midcourt, drawing KU closer to the century mark at 89-54. Brandon Roberts came back with a three of his own, giving him nine points on the night. Sasha Kaun then scored off a Darrell Arthur steal, putting KU up by 34.

Jordan Payne then was fouled on a jumper coming out of a 30-second KU timeout to get Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson back in the game. Payne stroked both free throws, giving him 10 points on the night.

11:52, second half, KU leads 80-48

Jordan Payne missed a threw following a KU turnover out of the timeout. Russell Robinson collected the board and pushed the ball hard to the other end. He got it back and missed a three atop the key, but Darnell Jackson tipped in the miss and got a foul shot to go in with it. It gave KU its biggest lead at 70-43, and gave Jackson 14 points on the night.

Dalky Melendez scored on the other end and drew the second foul of the game on Darnell Jackson to answer back. Melendez missed the foul shot, and ULM remained down by 25.

Tyrel Reed came back down to hit a three atop the key for KU, and it was followed by a foul cal against Melendez. Darnell Jackson then sunk a baseline jumper to tie himself with a game-high of 15 points. Jonas Brown hit a three atop the key for ULM just before coach Orlando Early called for a timeout.

After that break, Rodrick Stewart cut into the lane down the baseline and scored his first points of the game to put KU up by 29.

Jackson then scored again off another KU steal and was fouled in the process. The free throw gave him a game-high 19 points. That also goes as a career-high, with the former number being 13, achieved five times.

14:49, second half, KU leads 67-43

Sasha Kaun opened up the half with an and-one layup off a feed from Mario Chalmers, but couldn’t hit the accompanying free throw. Lance Brasher answered with a layup of his own on the other end.

Darrell Arthur then missed on a bank shot from in close for KU, sending the ball back again with ULM, but Brasher hoisted a three that drew long iron. Brasher was then tagged with a foul on Russell Robinson as he put up a short jumper.

Robinson hit a pair of free throws to give himself eight points, which were responded to by an Afam Nweke jumper. Sherron Collins and Brandon Roberts then traded layups, and it was followed by a swap of two-point hoops from Robinson and Tony Hooper, with the marathon of scoring keeping KU ahead by 25.

Arthur again missed from in close to continue his shooting woes for the night, but Jordan Payne missed a jumper on the other end and Arthur collected the board. On the other end, Lance Brasher committed his fourth foul of the game, putting Mario Chalmers at the line. Chalmers hit two free throws, giving him eight points.

Sherron Collins then scored his 15th and 16th points of the night on a layup in transition following an Afam Nweke miss on the baseline. Chalmers then provided one of the biggest highlights of the night, throwing a lob for Darrell Arthur, who threw down a lobbed pass for an elongated dunk over Mitchell Hampton, drawing the foul on Hampton and putting Arthur at the free throw line. Shady sunk it, giving him 10 points and putting KU up by 22.

After a scramble following another ULM turnover, Tyrel Reed picked up a Mario Chalmers miss and laid it in for his first official points as a Jayhawk, putting KU up 67-43.

Halftime, KU leads 50-35

Lance Brasher hit a three out of the timeout for ULM to give him six points and pull the Warhawks within 12. But KU got three the old-fashioned way on the other end, with Darnell Jackson scoring his seventh and eighth points inside and drawing a foul. His free throw gave him nine points so far.

Jordan Payne was then fouled taking a three of his own, and at the stripe hit all three charities, keeping it a 12-point game. Mario Chalmers went strong to the rack on the other end and drew a foul of his own. He missed the first and hit the second, putting KU up by 13.

After a missed ULM jumper, Mario Chalmers circled around and missed a three, giving the Warhawks a chance to chip into the lead a bit more. But a turnover at midcourt, via a Sherron Collins steal, led to a feed for Sasha Kaun in the open court for his first points of the game on an easy dunk. Darnell Jackson then slammed home two more on a fast break feed from Chalmers, in which he took off from several feet away from the rim for a one-handed dunk. It put Jackson in double figures with 11 points and gave KU a 17-point edge with just over a minute to go in the half.

ULM’s Raphelle Turner scored on an inside turnaround, and then a KU turnover gave the Warhawks the ball with 33.5 seconds left in the half and a chance for the final shot before the break. After a tie-up, the ball stayed with the Warhawks. Jordan Payne responded with a three-pointer, giving him six points and pulling ULM to within 12 at 47-35.

KU got one chance with the ball with six seconds to play, and Darrell Arthur threw up a desperation three which banked in off the glass, to give him seven points in a rather quiet offensive half for the sophomore forward.

Sherron Collins led the way for KU with 12 points, while Darnell Jackson slammed his way to 11. ULM’s Tony Hooper led all scorers with 13 points, including three three-pointers.

3:59, first half, KU leads 39-24

Jeremy Case created a steal in the backcourt out of the timeout, and Sherron Collins coasted in on the other end for an acrobatic layup to put the Jayhawks up by 18. Tony Hooper responded with his second three of the game.

Cole Aldrich, now in the game for Darnell Jackson, then earned his way to the free throw line via the bonus and hit both. Hooper came back and canned another three, only to be answered back by Aldrich tipping in a Case missed three, putting KU up 16.

Aldrich got another tip-in, this time off a Darrell Arthur missed baseline jumper, giving the freshman big man six points in less then three minutes on the floor.

Aldrich then ripped down a defensive board following a Hooper three miss. But Hooper took the ball back at midcourt and fed Brandon Roberts. Roberts missed a layup off the front iron, but Hooper tipped it back in and was fouled in the process. The subsequent free throw gave him a game-high 13 points and cut KU’s lead to 39-24.

7:23, first half, KU leads 31-15

Lance Brasher missed a pair of free throws for ULM out of the timeout. But Sasha Kaun came right back and missed a close-range turnaround off the back iron.

KU’s defense earned the ball back, and on a break, Darnell Jackson took a feed from Mario Chalmers and was hacked on his way up to the rack. Jackson hit both foul shots, putting KU up 26-13 midway through the first half.

The Warhawks went into the paint on the trip back, with Mitchell Hampton scoring his first points of the game in the paint. Jonas Brown then created a steal, but ULM gave it right back on a failed lob attempt down low.

KU struggled to find an open shot on their next possession, and after a Rodrick Stewart miss inside, the Jayhawks corralled the rebound on the wing. Collins checked back in for Stewart after the ball went out of bounds and immediately hit a three, giving him 10 points on the night. He then stole the ball in the paint and fed Darnell Jackson for a wide open fast break two-handed throwdown.

11:43, first half, KU leads 24-13

Russell Robinson tried for his third three of the game right out of the break, but after the miss, Darrell Arthur furiously slammed home his second field goal of the night, putting KU up by four.

On ULM’s next possession, KU committed a pair of fouls on the floor, but after the whistles, the Warhawks turned it back over. Mario Chalmers then knifed into the land and found Sherron Collins for three. Tony Hooper responded with two slashing to the hoop, and Chalmers matched the feat on the other end.

Collins kept the guard scoring up by getting into the lane for two more points on a drive down the wing, giving him a team-high seven early on with KU leading by nine. ULM’s Brandon Roberts came back with two inside for his first points. Darnell Jackson then tipped in a missed Darrell Arthur jumper.

ULM cut the lead to eight points with a free throw from Raphelle Turner after drawing a foul on Darrell Arthur inside.

Rodrick Stewart then hoisted his first shot of the game from three-point range. It missed, and after KU controlled a wild rebound, the Jayhawks turned it back over.

Stewart made up for it by skying high for a rebound on the other end. The transition offense led to a three from Mario Chalmers, giving him five points.

15:52, first half, KU leads 10-8

KU controlled the opening tip and immediately went to work from the outside. Sherron Collins drove and dished out to Russell Robinson, who canned a three from the corner. ULM then turned it over off the inbounds pass, and was whistled for a foul after the shot clock wound half-way through. A second foul came moments later against ULM’s top gun – Tony Hooper.

Darrell Arthur took a turnaround jumper in the post after the foul but couldn’t hit it, and ULM took the ball for the first time. Hooper then scored on a backdoor feed easily off the glass.

Sherron Collins answered back with a floater in the lane from eight feet out to make it 5-2 KU. The Jayhawks then executed a trap in the backcourt and forced Brandon Roberts into a travel.

Darrell Arthur then executed a backdoor of his own and threw down a two-handed stuff. The backcourt pressure kept up for KU, and Sherron Collins took a floor burn to get a steal.

KU couldn’t execute, but got the ball back off a ULM missed three. After KU returned the favor with a ball flying out of Sasha Kaun’s hands while going up for a dunk, Lance Brasher hit a three for the Warhawks. Robinson came right back with his second trey of the game.

Jonas Brown hit a three, leading into the game’s first full break with KU up 10-8.

Pregame

KU breezed through a pair of exhibition contests against in-state D-II foes, but as it should be, the Jayhawks’ regular season opener tonight in Allen Fieldhouse against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks will without question be the team’s biggest test yet.

The Warhawks, who play in the Sunbelt conference, are no slouches, either. The team surged at the end of last season to finish 18-14, and from that team returns the top seven scorers. ULM, under hot young coaching prospect Orlando Early, is a guard-laden squad, starting four of them alongside junior forward Afam Nweke. Senior Jonas Brown led the Warhawks with 20 points in their exhibition win on Nov. 6 over Millsaps College, and was complemented by junior Tony Hooper, who scored 17 and pulled down six rebounds. Off the bench, 6-8 freshman forward Raphelle Turner scored 15 points for ULM.

The Jayhawks’ strength tonight should come in the post due to ULM’s lack of size. Most eyes, with that said, will be on sophomore Darrell Arthur, who was the Jayhawks’ star through two exhibition tilts. He averaged team highs with 16 points and six rebounds.

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