The Jayhawks used a 14-2 run at the end of the first half to cruise to their fifth-straight victory.

“We did play well late, really well,” KU coach Bill Self said of the late first-half run. “In the second half we were pretty good from start to finish. All in all a pretty good win.”

Kansas, which improved to 8-4 on the season, outscored Yale 51-21 in the second frame while shooting 57 percent from the field. KU recorded a season high 29 assists on its 35 field goals as 12 Jayhawks scored in the contest. Kansas also scored 31 points off 22 Yale turnovers.

Senior Jeff Hawkins tied his career-high with 19 points — including four three-pointers.

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo

“Hawk played well,” Self said. “Mario (Chalmers) started and it may have helped Jeff. He brought a lot of energy off the bench.”

KU big men Sasha Kaun and C.J. Giles combined for 20 points and nine rebounds.

“I was pleased with him,” Self said of Kaun. “I don’t think he liked sitting over there on the bench. He didn’t play real well in the first half, but he played about as well as he has against size in the second half. C.J. was better even though we aren’t getting enough low post scoring from him.”

The freshman trio of Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush and Julian Wright combined for 28 points. Chalmers, who started for the first time as a collegian, tallied 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Get the stats: KU vs. Yale box score Hear Bill: Yale postgame comments Photo Gallery: KU vs. Yale

“I found out at the shoot-around before the game,” Chalmers said. “I was kind of shocked at first when I heard my name, but then I was ready to go. I was excited and ready to go out there and prove to myself that I should be starting.”

Sophomore guard Russell Robinson set a career high with eight assists and tied a career best with five steals.

“He didn’t take shots tonight but this is the most fun Russell has had,” Self said. “He had eight assists and five steals.”

Yale was led by Eric Flato’s 10 points.

Despite the loss, Bulldog Nick Holmes, who along with his twin brother, Caleb, hail from Olathe, said the game was a fun one.

“It was pretty cool. I had a lot of family and friends here tonight,” he said. “It was great to play here because it is one of the best places in the country to play.”

Self said he and his squad are excited for Saturday’s 11 a.m. showdown against tradition-rich Kentucky.

“It will be a game that my prediction might not be the most artistic,” Self said. “A lot of battles for loose balls. Two teams really getting after it. And two programs with a ton of pride. I’m sure both sides wil be chomping at the bit.”

Second Half Action

Jeff Hawkins couldn’t keep his hot streak at very start of the second half as his three from the right side rimmed out.

Yale turned the ball over on its first possession of the second stanza.

Brandon Rush missed a three, but KU kept possession.

Christian Moody scored KU’s first second-half basket on a dunk, then followed that up with a lay-in in the lane to give KU a 40-25 lead two minutes into the second period.

Giles hit a midrange jumper from the right baseline.

Rush followed with another three to give him eight points as Kansas opened a 20-point lead, 45-25 just three minutes into the second half.

Eric Flato got Yale on the board with a short jumper.

But Jeff Hawkins added his third three-pointer to give him 16 points — three off his career-high.

O. South’s Caleb Holmes hit a basket and free throw to give him six points.

But Sasha Kaun responded with a big dunk and was fouled. He missed the charity but KU still leads by 20, 52-32 with a little more than 14 minutes remaining.

Wright added a jumper, then a tip-in off a Kaun miss. KU leads 56-34 with 11 minutes to go.

Hawkins tied his career-high with 19 points when he hit his fourth three-pointer of the game from the top of the key with a little under eight minutes left.

Kaun added a turnaround shot to give him 10 points, and Russell Robinson scored his first basket off a break-away lay-in.

Hawkins missed a three that would have given him a new career high, but he got his own rebound and fed Kaun for another dunk.

Mario Chalmers hit back-to-back baskets, including a trey to put KU up 74-40 with 4 1/2 minutes to go.

Giles hit another baseline jumper to give him eight points.

Jeremy Case hit a three. The sophomore has not hit 10-of-19 triples on the season.

Roderick Stewart hit a long jumper to make the score 82-44 with a little more than a minute left.

Case hit another three and Matt Kleinmann got on the scoreboard with a lay-in to put KU ahead 87-46.

Halftime

Much like Kansas’ game against New Orleans, the Jayhawks went on a big run right before halftime to take command of the contest.

Tonight the Jayhawks went on a 14-2 run over the last three and a half minutes to take a 36-25 halftime lead.

KU senior Jeff Hawkins provided a big spark with 13 first half points — including two treys and an old-fashion three-point play.

Yale was led by Eric Flato’s six points.

Kansas shot 52-percent, while the Bulldogs hit 42-percent. The Jayhawks outrebounded Yale 16-12.

First Half Action

Yale won the tip, and freshman Mario Chalmers nearly came up with a steal on the Bulldogs first possession. C.J. Giles added a block, but Yale got a rebound after a missed shot and point guard Eric Flato knocked down a three from the left corner.

KU turned the ball over on its first possession.

Christian Moody got his shot stuff on KU’s next possession, before the Jayhawks turned the ball over.

Kansas finally got on the scoreboard when Giles hit a midrange jumper from the right baseline with 17:33 left.

Sam Kaplan gave Yale a 5-2 lead, but Chalmers answered with a lay-in.

Chalmers hit a jumper to cut KU’s deficit to one with a little more than 15 minutes left in the half. The freshman, who has five quick points, hit a free throw to tie the contest at 7-all with 15:04 to go.

Chalmers gave KU its first lead when he hooked up teammate Giles for a nice pass in the lane that the big man threw down with a one hand slam.

Caleb Holmes, one of two twins from Olathe South, nailed a three to put Yale back in front 10-9.

Bulldog Chris Andrews got a floater to fall to put Yale ahead 12-9.

Moody hit a free throw and Brandon Rush got his first point with a three-pointer from the right side to put KU ahead 13-12 with a little more than 10 minutes remaining in the half.

Jeff Hawkins hit a three-pointer from out in front to put KU up by four points.

Each team has six turnovers.

Hawkins added his second three of the night to give KU its largest lead at 21-16 with just under seven minutes remaining.

A bad pass by Stephen Vinson, who just checked in, was hammered home the other way by Yale’s Casey Hughes, who cut KU’s lead to three.

Julian Wright added his first point off a free throws with 4:50 to go to push Kansas ahead by four and the Jayhawks got the rebound, but Rush turned it back over on a travel.

Matt Kyle followed with a two-hand slam to cut the contest to 22-20.

A three by Flato put Yale ahead 23-22 with 3:33 left in the first half. The Bulldogs are on a 9-4 run over the last six minutes.

KU’s leading scorer tonight, Chalmers hit a free throw to knot the contest up.

Sasha Kaun hit a turnaround shot off a entry pass from Wright.

Hawkins followed with a steal, basket and was fouled. His free throw gave him nine points and put KU ahead 28-23 with 2:43 to go in the half.

Hawkins continued his tear with a steal and lay-up to give KU a 8-0 run in the last minute and a half.

The senior followed with another lay-in to give him 13 points and KU a 32-23 lead.

A turnover by Yale gives KU a possession with 59.9 left in the half. The Bulldogs have 13 tunovers, KU has comitted nine.

Wright answered with a turnaround jumper and Robinson got a steal and found a streaking Rush for a dunk to put KU ahead 36-23.

Kaplan added two free throws to cut the score to 36-25 at halftime.

KU coach Bill Self shuffled up the starting line-up a bit starting Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers in the backcourt. Brandon Rush remained at a wing, but C.J. Giles emerged in the frontcourt with senior Christian Moody.

Pregame

There is another game tonight.

While most of the nation will be watching USC and Texas battling it out for the national championship in the Rose Bowl, undoubtedly many in Jayhawk nation will still be watching how Kansas performs in its 2006 debut.

KU takes a 7-4 record and four-game win streak into its 7 p.m. showdown against Yale tonight in Allen Fieldhouse.

“These guys will come in and will play hard,” said KU coach Bill Self of 7-6 Yale. “They can shoot the ball. They’ll make us make plays which will be good for us. Hopefully, we’ll be excited to play. I’m sure the Holmes boys will let their teammates know how much it means to them and how much fun they’ll have playing in Allen. We’ll do the same.”

KU is outscoring its opponents 74.4 to 60.2 and holds a plus-5.4 rebounding margin. Kansas leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at 35.5 percent and blocked shots at seven per game.

Kansas features three players who are averaging 10-plus points per game. Freshman Brandon Rush leads KU at 12.2 points per contest. Rush also leads the team with 15 three-point field goals this season.

Sophomore center Sasha Kaun is next in scoring at 10.8 points per game and leads KU in rebounding with 6.8 per contest — good for 11th in the Big 12. Sophomore forward Darnell Jackson is scoring 10 points per outing for the Jayhawks.

Sophomore center C.J. Giles leads KU with 26 blocked shots – second in the league – and his 6.7 rebounds per game are 12th in the conference. Freshman Mario Chalmers averages 2.3 steals per contest — third in the Big 12 — and senior Jeff Hawkins leads the team in assists with an average of 3.2 per outing — 14th in the league.

The Kansas contest will mark the fifth straight and ninth road game of the season for Yale. Junior forward Sam Kaplan leads Yale in scoring with 13.4 points per game. Senior center Dominick Martin is next in scoring at 11.2 points in five outings. He became eligible at the semester. Sophomore guard Eric Flato is next in scoring with a 10.2 average. Junior guard/forward Casey Hughes is scoring nine points per contest and leads Yale in rebounds with an 8.3 average.

Kansas won the only meeting with Yale in men’s basketball with a 63-54 win in Lawrence on December 19, 1975. Leavenworth, Kan., sophomore Clint Johnson led the Jayhawks with 19 points and 10 rebounds. KU sophomore Ken Koenigs added 18 points and sophomore Milt Gibson had 10 points as KU overcame a 24-20 halftime deficit. Kansas is 9-0 all-time against teams from the Ivy League.

Yale sophomores Nick and Caleb Holmes are 6-6 twins from Olathe, Kan. The duo went to Olathe South High School

The 6-foot-6, 200-pound Yale University sophomores, who lost one game their junior and senior seasons and won a state title in 2004, are hoping for a happy homecoming tonight.

“I think every relative we know will (be at the game),” said Nick Holmes, a starter who averages 6.0 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. Key reserve Caleb Holmes averages 9.6 points and 3.9 boards.

“There should be a lot of people who went to my high school and people from Olathe. Only a couple are staying home to watch it on TV,” Nick Holmes said.