Garrett’s career night tops ratings after KU’s 80-78 grinder over Texas

By Matt Tait     Jan 14, 2019

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Kansas guard Marcus Garrett (0) gets past Texas guard Jase Febres (13) to put up a shot during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, in Lawrence, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

**1 – Marcus Garrett -** Added a serious dose of offense to his always-solid defensive effort and recorded a career-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Easily the best all-around game of his career and KU needed every ounce of it.

**2 – Lagerald Vick -** Led everyone with 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range and was ultra-aggressive going to the rim early in the game. His shot is back and his head appears to have come with it.

**3 – Dedric Lawson -** A quiet first half because of foul trouble gave way to what we’ve become used to seeing — the Kansas offense playing through Lawson and the KU junior putting up points as a result.

**4 – Devon Dotson -** Matched Texas, athlete for athlete, and tallied 10 hard-earned points to go along with five rebounds and five assists. More important than any of those numbers, though, was the big ZERO in the turnover column.

**5 – Ochai Agbaji -** Easily his worst of the three games he’s played, but we’re founding out that Agbaji at his worst is still better than a lot of people at their best. Four points, four rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in 25 minutes. He once again was out there at the end and, after the game, KU coach Bill Self tossed around the T word — trust — when talking about what he likes most about Agbaji.

**6 – Quentin Grimes -** Made 2 of 5 from 3-point range, including one in the opening minutes of the game, but did little else and had one of KU’s four turnovers.

**7 – David McCormack -** Made his eight minutes count with pure effort and even a little polish. Grabbed three offensive rebounds and scored what turned out to be a big bucket inside during the second half.

**8 – Charlie Moore -** Missed his lone shot in three minutes, but did set up Mitch Lightfoot inside with a nice dime.

**9 – Mitch Lightfoot -** Missed the two free throws that came from Moore’s would-be assist and recorded one foul in 6 minutes.

Season Standings:
———–

1 – Dedric Lawson – 128

2 – Devon Dotson – 126

3 – Lagerald Vick – 103

4 – Marcus Garrett – 94

5 – Quentin Grimes – 79

6 – Mitch Lightfoot – 62

7 – Charlie Moore – 53

8 – David McCormack – 42

9 – K.J. Lawson – 41

10 – Ochai Agbaji – 21

*Note: Injured center Udoka Azubuike had recorded 50 points through KU’s first 13 games of the season and freshman Ochai Agbaji did not start playing until Game 15.*

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.