After a hectic Tuesday night opening victory at Arkansas, the Kansas University basketball team returned home today for a Thursday night game with a strong New Mexico club and a Saturday contest with a touted Northwestern team.
New Mexico finished second in the New York NIT last season while Northwestern boasts some of the finest sophomores in the Big Ten area. KU assistant coach Sam Miranda was an aide at New Mexico last season.
Kansas got off to a shaky start at Arkansas Tuesday night but showed poise in the clutch an got good help from the bench to prevail 65-60 in a thriller. It was the first victory for KU’s Ted Owen as a major college head coach.
The Jayhawks fell behind the hot-shooting Arkansas team 25-11 at one point in the first half before a rally paid dividends. The Jays fought back to tie the score at 30-all with about a minute to go in the half, then stalled out the final 55 seconds for the last shot with reserve Fred Chana scoring the tip-in that gave KU a 32-20 halftime edge.
Arkansas hit its first five shots and KU couldn’t find the range. Such shooting kept the Razorbacks in the thick of it even at the start of the second half. But with the score tied at 49-all, KU sub center Jim Gough hit a pair of free throws to make it 51-49 and the Jayhawks never trailed again, their largest margin being a 59-50 on a jump shot by heady quarterback Del Lewis with 4:30 remaining.
Journal-World File PhotoKansas then weathered the Hog threat to win 65-60.
The Jays were hampered by the fact 6-11 center Walt Wesley got into foul trouble early and left the game on fouls with 8:50 to go. Ron Franz, 6-7 soph starter, also had foul trouble and was lost with 6:25 to go. But the 6-8 Gough and the 6-6 Chana came in and did outstanding relief work indicating KU not only will have firepower and size but good bench strength this season.
Guard Lewis and 6-6 junior forward Lochmann were the key men for the Kansans. Lewis led the scoring with 14 timely points. Lochmann claimed 11 points and 5 rebounds. Wesley had 11 points and 7 rebounds and 6-5 junior guard Al Lopes got 7 points and 10 rebounds to lead the team in the latter category. For the game, KU outrebounded Arkansas 43-27.
Arkansas scored on 21 of 55 field goal tries while KU cashed in on 26 of 58.
Owens started Wesley, Lochmann, Franz, Lopes and Lewis. Senior Dave Schichtle also provided some good backcourt relief in the first half. Leading the game’s scorers was 5-9 Arkansas guard Gene Rousseau with 20 points while Ron Sugg scored 12 for the Hogs. Kansas now holds a 5-1 advantage over the Razorbacks in the series. Arkansas won 64-62 in overtime at Fayetteville two years ago.
Owens was pleased that his club failed to lose its poise and discipline even though at times they appeared out of the game in the first half. The Jayhawks refused to “panic” and kept hewing to the pre-game line. New Mexico and Northwestern both will be sterner tests than Arkansas but Owens expects better performances after the shakedown cruise on a foreign court.
