KU struggles past KSU on Big Dipper’s day

By Felicia Haynes     Jan 18, 1998

Maybe Kansas University officials should think twice before unfurling any more 13s in their storied basketball home.

On the long-awaited day KU great Wilt Chamberlain’s No. 13 jersey was hoisted to the rafters, the third-ranked Jayhawks struggled to a 69-62 victory over Kansas State on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

The victory was Kansas’ 55th straight at home, tying a school record.

But the Jayhawks weren’t sharp with Wilt in the House that Wilt Built.

Paul Pierce and Billy Thomas, who have shouldered the scoring load in place of the injured Raef LaFrentz, each hoisted 13 shots — there’s that number again — but Pierce hit just three and Thomas four of those attempts en route to 11 points apiece.

Thomas became the 37th player in KU history to join the 1,000-point club, and, curiously, Pierce tied Chamberlain for 12th on the all-time KU scoring charts.

“I sort of struggled a little bit,” said Pierce, who ran his career total to 1,433 points on the day he tied his season-low for point production. “Some shots just weren’t going down. Maybe I have to concentrate more. It was just one of those days.”

“I have to keep giving that team credit,” added Thomas, who just squeaked into the 1K club with 1,001 career points. “That team’s really good. Shots were coming much tougher. My teammates also had a tough time. Give that team credit.”

Give Kansas (21-2 overall, 5-0 Big 12 Conference) some credit, too, for shaking off the distraction of the Big Dipper, the streak and the Sunflower Showdown.

The Jayhawks missed their first seven shots and hit just 39.3 percent of their field goals, including just 25 percent of their three-pointers.

“The way we played early showed how tight we were,” said KU point guard Ryan Robertson, who scored a team-high 15 points, including a back-breaking three-pointer at 1:18 and two free throws with 45.9 seconds left. “There were a lot of things hanging over our heads, like the fact Mr. Chamberlain was here, the streak, the rivalry.

“We’d all like to say that it wasn’t a problem. But let’s face it, that all played a part in today’s game. … But we were able to get past it.”

They were thanks in no small part to a disruptive defense that forced 21 turnovers and collected 16 steals in dropping the Wildcats to 11-4, 2-3.

“Our defense was great tonight,” said KU’s Lester Earl, who contributed 12 points and team-highs of seven rebounds and six steals. “The defense makes the offense.”

And Kansas’ defense had a devil of a time stopping Manny Dies’ offense. Dies, K-State’s 6-foot-9 junior forward, double-doubled with 26 points and 11 rebounds.

“I had a tough time fronting the post,” said KU freshman center Eric Chenowith, who scored two points and was the only KU starter to fail to reach double figures. “He had a great game. Gosh, 26 points. I don’t want to take any credit away from him. I had a hand up for every shot. What can you do?”

The Jayhawks will travel to Missouri on Monday. Tipoff will be 8:35 p.m.

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