“It was heartbreaking,” Houston point guard Martise Coleman said Saturday afternoon. “We flew into Kansas City, had an hour drive here, got here late and got beat by one.

“Heartbreaking,” he added, shaking his head.

Coleman was feeling much better Saturday afternoon after helping the Hardballers trip Keith Langford and Jeff Hawkins’ Sport2Sport squad, 73-71, before about 100 fans at Allen Fieldhouse.

Coleman, a 5-foot-10 point guard, had several feeds to big man Dexter Upshaw, who potted 30 points in the victory. Future KU players Langford and Hawkins scored 12 and eight points respectively for Sport2Sport.

“We came out, played hard and got everybody involved in the game,” said Coleman, a Houston Christian High School senior who is headed to Maine Central Institute prep school next year.

“The Kansas players are great, but we were ready to play today. It was important getting it in to Dexter,” he added of Upshaw, a 6-10 senior-to-be at Oakridge High in Conroe, Texas. “Dexter is really good. He shows a lot of heart.”

Upshaw, who’s wide open on colleges, helped stake Houston to an early 14-point lead, scoring at will on the inside.

“Kansas is the home team, so we knew we had to play hard,” Upshaw said. “My biggest thing is rebounding. I try to work hard in the post, to be bruising.”

Upshaw had to earn his points and double-digit rebounds against Sport2Sport.

“It’s hard. They had the guy from Kansas (Langford) fronting me, so I got a couple of fouls down low trying to get position,” Upshaw said.

Langford, KU’s 6-foot-5 signee from Crowley, Texas, hit three of seven shots, including a three-pointer. He also canned five of seven free throws. Hawkins hit three of four shots and had four assists.

Earlier, Langford scored 19 points and Hawkins five in a 12-point morning victory over Westchester.

Langford headed back to Crowley on Saturday afternoon for North Crowley High’s prom, which took place Saturday night.

He was expected back today for the final day of the Jayhawk Invitational.

Today’s finals in the 17&under division are set for 2 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse. Pool play games start today at 9 a.m.

Future Jayhawk can pass

KC Sumner’s Hawkins had one of the flashiest plays of the tournament Friday night.

He passed the basketball through the legs of a Colorado Joint Effort player, retrieved the ball, then dished to Langford for a layup.

“I wanted to come here to showcase my passing ability,” Hawkins said. “Passing and getting everybody involved is what I like to do. It’s fun being here because the people in Lawrence haven’t gotten to see me yet. I want to show them I can be a good player.”

Hawkins will red-shirt next season at KU, then be placed on scholarship the next four years.

“I will have an advantage sitting out the first year. I will work on gaining weight, getting quicker and improving my defense,” Hawkins said. “I want to be a great defensive player.

“We’ve got a lot of guards in (Kirk) Hinrich, (Jeff) Boschee and Aaron Miles and some others, so I’d be riding the bench. This way I can sit out a year and be that much better in the future.”

Hawkins orally committed to KU in November and remained committed, despite the fact major college schools like UCLA and Tulsa wanted to get involved.

Smaller schools like Portland also came in late, suggesting the likelihood of immediate playing time.

“It was a pretty tough decision to red-shirt,” Hawkins said. “I knew I wouldn’t be playing my first year and I knew I’d have some other colleges after me. But I always liked KU and the fans here. I’m glad I’ve been given the opportunity.”

Hawkins could be seen stretching Saturday when he wasn’t in the game.

He’s had off-and-on back pain for more than a year now.

“It hurts me in the lower back when I do a lot of jumping and running,” Hawkins said. “It started about the middle of my junior season. Sometimes coach (Randy Springs) would pull me out of the game to rest it if we had a big lead.”

Hawkins has been examined by doctors.

“They said it’s ‘growing pains,”’ Hawkins said. “I can live with it if I’m growing. I asked the doctor, ‘Can I get to about 6-7?’ He said, ‘No.’

“I was hoping I could get that tall.”