Cause for alarm?

Not this time.

“I was joking around with coach (Roy) Williams after the game. I told coach, ‘I don’t need any X-rays,’ so you guys in the media don’t need to worry about X-ray results,”’ Gooden said, grinning after scoring 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds.

“I’ve been blessed with strong ankles,” he said.

Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo

The 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, who has had his fill of X-rays the past three weeks, came up big after sitting out five games with a slight fracture in his right wrist.

He and fellow forward Nick Collison each scored nine points in the second half as the Jayhawks (22-5, 11-4) outscored the pesky Wildcats (9-17, 3-12), 46-36, during the final 20 minutes.

“My wrist felt great,” Gooden said after helping KU to its 18th consecutive victory in Manhattan and 21st straight overall against the Wildcats.

“I had no problems with it. I felt like I’d never hurt it. The time off was good for the healing process. It was a good decision for me to sit out so long.”

Gooden said he felt strong physically during his 21-minute stint.

Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo

“The only thing that went wrong is I had cotton mouth,” Gooden said. “I could hardly move my tongue and mouth. I think I was dehydrated after being out so long. I couldn’t talk to my teammates out there.”

Gooden’s actions spoke volumes during a pivotal stretch.

He scored five straight points in a 9-2 surge that upped a 63-58 lead with 5:37 left to 72-60 with 3:27 remaining.

That 12-point lead was KU’s biggest of the game.

“I was like, great players step up in big games. This definitely was a big game,” Gooden said. “I tried to score, rebound, play some defense. I tried to step up for my team.”

Williams appreciated Gooden’s extra effort in his first game back in a long, long time.

“Needless to say, it’s good to have Drew Gooden back,” Williams said. “We wanted to go inside tonight. We felt it would be a big advantage. Some times this year we’ve forgotten it. The second half I thought we were pretty doggone good.”

Sophomore point guard Kirk Hinrich scored 12 points and had five assists in the second half after going scoreless the first half.

He wasn’t the only Jayhawk to struggle in the initial 20 minutes.

Williams yanked five regulars for the unlikely lineup of Brett Ballard, Lewis Harrison, Chris Zerbe, Todd Kappelmann and Jeff Carey with 12:31 left in the first half, KU down, 13-7.

The group all the players but Carey hail from Kansas went on a 5-0 surge before leaving at 10:39. Ballard hit a three-pointer, while Zerbe canned two free throws and the others played stifling defense.

“I was so, so proud of those guys,” Williams said. “Four of them are from Kansas and this game means a lot to them, too. Normally you hope to just keep it (score) even.

“Those guys stopped them three straight times and outscored them, 5-0, in that stretch.”

Williams didn’t watch the reserves during that stretch. He was busy screaming at, and instructing, the Jayhawks who struggled early.

“We had seven turnovers the first five possessions,” Williams said. “They weren’t doing what we practiced.”

Collison was proud of the reserve group.

“We were fired up to come out and play tonight, but we were in too much of a hurry,” Collison said. “Those guys practice hard and play well when they get in the game. They gave us a lift.”

KU hit just nine of 22 shots and had 10 turnovers the first half in building a slim 31-29 lead.

Collison had four points while Gregory and Boschee who scored 11 points apiece each had two in an 8-0 run that gave KU a 41-33 lead at 16:47.

Gregory hit a big three and Hinrich a basket as KU went on a 5-0 run and led, 50-39, at 13:08. However, the Cats didn’t quit, rolling off seven straight points and cutting the gap to 50-46 at 10:50.

Collison scored five straight for KU and Hinrich hit a three as the Jayhawks opened a 58-50 lead at 8:23.

“Nick Collison was really big for us down low,” said senior center Eric Chenowith, who had eight points and four boards. “We stayed with it and did a better job working it inside the second half.”

KU led, 60-54, at 7:11, when Gregory stroked in a big three.

“I feel like if I am open, I’m in a little stretch now where I feel I can knock that shot down,” said Gregory, who had a pair of threes in four tries.

KU led, 63-58, when Gooden took over with his back-breaking five-point stretch.

The Jayhawks withstood the Cats’ attack, which included 16 points from Larry Reid and 15 from Quentin Buchanan. KU hit 21 of 27 free throws to 15 of 20 for KSU.

The Jayhawks conclude the regular season on Sunday against Missouri. Tip is 1 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.