“I walked in and looked right at that table. It felt like I’d returned to the scene of the crime,” Simien said, pointing to the trainers’ table where he sat in terrible pain last Jan. 4 after his right shoulder was displaced in the first half of a blowout win over UMKC.

“That wasn’t too pleasant. But after this … this is good.”

Kansas University’s junior forward exorcised some Kemper demons by scoring 19 points and grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds in the fifth-ranked Jayhawks’ 77-67 victory Saturday over unranked Oregon.

About the only discomfort Simien felt at this year’s Feist Shootout was some tightness in his groin.

Thad Allender/Journal-World Photo

An 18-minute delay just before the start of the second half — the lights went out after a power surge hit Kemper — forced the 6-foot-9, 250-pounder to head to the locker room to stretch and receive treatment.

“It stiffened up while we were waiting,” said Simien, who missed Wednesday’s game against Fort Hays State because of a slightly strained groin. “Other than that, I felt fine.”

Simien played 35 minutes, while reserve center Moulaye Niang, who had five rebounds and one basket, logged 19 minutes as KU played without senior Jeff Graves.

Graves, KU’s backup center, Friday was suspended by coach Bill Self for disciplinary reasons.

Starting center David Padgett, meanwhile, played just 13 minutes because of foul problems. He scored just four points while failing to grab a rebound.

Those four points were big, however.

The 6-11 freshman hit a pair of hook shots to boost a 49-47 lead to six points with 11:28 to play.

“I told David after the game, ‘Statistically, you will not walk out of here excited, but you got two of the toughest buckets of the game when we desperately needed them,”’ Self said.

Those two Padgett hooks followed an 11-0 Oregon run that sliced a 13-point deficit to two. Padgett, however, picked up his fourth foul just 14 seconds after his second hoop.

“We were struggling to get baskets. I made a couple of quick moves and got two good rolls, that’s for sure,” Padgett said. “Then that foul killed it. Foul trouble kept me out of the flow of the game.”

Padgett’s back-to-back baskets opened a 21-5 run that gave the Jayhawks an insurmountable 70-52 lead with 3:49 left.

Point guard Aaron Miles — who scored 16 points with four assists and a career-high nine rebounds — had 10 points in that surge. Freshman J.R. Giddens had none in the run, but he finished with a career-high 18 points off 4-of-8 three-point shooting.

Giddens, who also had seven rebounds, received a standing ovation from the crowd of 14,158 when he exited in the final moments.

“I think they were happy with my play,” Giddens said of the fans’ response. “As far as scoring-wise, it was probably my best game.

“Coach Self and I talked. I asked him what he wanted from me, and he said, ‘When you shoot, shoot in rhythm and be aggressive.’ I tried to do that.”

Junior Keith Langford contributed 15 points with four assists and two steals and also played strong defense on Oregon’s Luke Jackson.

Jackson scored 27 points off 9-of-14 shooting, but he had just nine points the first half as KU led, 38-27, after 20 minutes.

“I think it was our best defensive game of the year,” Langford said.

KU’s defense was especially nasty during that back-breaking second-half run.

“We had a sense of urgency. It all started with Aaron. He defended Brooks (Aaron, 4-of-16 shooting, 12 points) really well,” Langford said. “We started getting defensive rebounds and played our best defense in that stretch.”

Oregon (3-1) hit 21 of 60 shots for 35 percent, including six of 29 threes.

The Jayhawks held Oregon to 1-of-11 and 4-of-24 shooting in rolling to a 19-10 lead.

“Our defense the first 12 minutes was awesome, except for rebounding,” Self said. “In the second half, we came out flat. Who wouldn’t come out flat when you are out there 20 minutes with the lights off? I gave the best halftime talk ever. I told the guys, ‘I had you guys ready to go and now this.’

“Our defense … when the game got close, our guys rebounded better, and that led to transition.”

The Jayhawks (5-1) will meet UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Wolf Pack Classic in Reno, Nev.