Collins’ late steal-and-score seals a 71-66 KU win over Georgia Tech

By Ryan Greene     Dec 18, 2007

Final, KU wins 71-66

Georgia Tech had one last chance, but Sherron Collins made his biggest play since coming back from foot surgery two games ago against DePaul. He stole a loose ball at midcourt and finished the game off with an open court layup, sealing a 71-66 KU win, making the No. 3 Jayhawks 11-0 on the season.

Collins was just four-of-12 from the field, but was one of four Jayhawks to score in double figures, finishing with 11, including two crucial free throws with :08.2 to go in the game and KU up by one.

Russell Robinson was clutch for most of the night at the line, finishing with 17 points and four assists. Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers scored 11 points apiece for KU, who will return to action Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse against Miami (Ohio).

:08.2, second half, KU leads 69-66

Russell Robinson drew another foul off of the inbounds pass, this time in the double bonus. He missed the front end, and did the same on the second, with Alade Aminu collecting the rebound with 30 seconds left.

After losing the ball out of bounds, GT retained possession, and Lewis Clinch was just off on a three-pointer, but KU fouled GT on the rebound with :09.2 left. The foul was on Mario Chalmers, taking him out of the game with five infractions.

Anthony Morrow went to the line and made both free throws to pull GT within one point, and Sherron Collins was fouled immediately with less than 10 seconds to play.

Collins calmly put away both after KU had missed three straight chariities, leading GT to call timeout with 8.2 seconds to go, down 69-66.

:32.1, second half, KU leads 67-64

Lewis Clinch scored again for Georgia Tech out of the timeout, giving him 22 points on the night – more than eight points above his season average of 13.8.

KU called a timeout, but out of the break, Sherron Collins missed a pull-up jumper and the ball was sent back with GT, down by six with 1:15 to go. Clinch, though, lost the ball off of his foot and out of bounds, giving KU the ball with the chips now all in their corner just short of the one-minute mark.

Russell Robinson was then fouled in the backcourt, went to the line and swished both, giving him 17 points and putting KU up by eight. Matt Causey came down to hit a three and keep GT within range somewhat at the :53.9 second mark.

Georgia Tech again fouled quickly, and this time Mario Chalmers missed the front end of a one-and-one. Brandon Rush deflected a Matt Causey three, but Causey got a loose ball underneath and scored to pull GT within three at 67-64 with :32.1 to play.

2:03, second half, KU leads 65-57

Sherron Collins missed another three attempt from atop the key out of the timeout, but Zack Peacock was well short on an inside turnaround jumper.

Russell Robinson then delivered what could turn out to be an early dagger, throwing home a long three-pointer atop the key with the shot clock winding down, giving him three trifectas on the night and a team-high 15 points, putting KU up by 11 against a low-scoring GT squad with a little more than six minutes to play.

After a Jeremis Smith offensive foul sent the ball back with KU, Darrell Arthur scooped up an offensive rebound off a Robinson miss, slipped it in and put KU ahead by 13 points with just five minutes left to play.

Darnell Jackson picked up his fourth foul of the game after the Arthur hoop, and it earned him a seat on the bench. Brandon Rush then aired a three from the corner. Alade Aminu got to the free throw line on the other end and hit one of two, only to be followed up by a Lewis Clinch layup in transition off a steal to pull GT within nine points again at the 3:56 mark. It gave clinch a game-high 17 points.

After a Bill Self timeout, Sherron Collins answered right away with a running two-pointer on the baseline, only to be followed by Lewis Clinch’s third three-pointer of the game to get Georgia Tech within eight points at 63-55.

GT then called a pair of timeouts with a timeout on the floor still on deck. Rodrick Stewart and Alade Aminu traded buckets going into the second called Yellow Jackets timeout at the 2:30 mark, KU still up by eight.

Darnell Jackson then committed his fifth and final foul on the offensive end, sending the game into a full break.

7:23, second half, KU leads 56-47

After a Georgia Tech turnover out of the timeout, Sasha Kaun got to the free throw line for the first time in the second half after going a perfect 4-of-4 from the stripe before the break.

Kaun missed the second after hitting the first, giving him seven points, three boards and three blocks on the night, pushing KU’s lead to 56-43.

Anthony Morrow, who scored eight points in the first half while dealing with foul trouble, scored his first bucket of the second half in the paint just past the 10-minute mark to pull GT back within 11, and Mario Chalmers followed it with a turnover at midcourt.

D’Andre Bell scored to pull GT within single digits yet again after a Jackets timeout. Sherron Collins then fell over while driving and was called for traveling, giving GT a chance to pull even closer.

A three look was well short and ended the Yellow Jackets’ possession in empty fashion. After KU turned it over yet again, the Jayhawks saved themselves again, this time swatting away a pair of shots in transition, going into a full timeout still up by nine.

11:15, second half, KU leads 55-43

With KU now in a smaller set (Rodrick Stewart took Darnell Jackson’s place), Sasha Kaun scored after a couple of empty possessions on each end.

Matt Causey came back for Georgia Tech to score and keep the Jackets within single digits at 49-40. Stewart put the lead back at 11 with his first bucket of the game, slipping in two after slashing from the deep wing.

The sloppiness continued for GT, as Brandon Rush took advantage of a Causey turnover in the open floor, using his abundance of space to throw down a double-pumped reverse dunk, putting KU up 53-40. Georgia Tech’s Lewis Clinch hit a three in response, followed by a GT timeout.

After the quick break, Darrell Arthur hit a deep two from the right corner to give KU a 55-43 lead.

15:58, second half, KU leads 47-38

Russell Robinson took a quick three on KU’s opening possession out of the half and missed. GT went right to work inside with freshman big man Gani Lawal hitting his first bucket of the game inside. Brandon Rush came back down to stroke his first three of the night, giving him seven points and putting KU up 39-31.

Lawal and Jeremis Smith then scored buckets that were sandwiched around a Mario Chalmers deuce. Brandon Rush kept KU’s cushion large, though, with a pair of free throws after drawing contact inside, and Robinson gave KU its first double-digit lead after a Darrell Arthur block with a one-handed dunk in transition.

Brandon Rush’s hot start to the second half continued as he swatted a three-look in the corner, and on the other end Mario Chalmers got fouled while going up to finish an alley oop. Chalmers hit both free throws, giving him 11 points and putting KU up by 12. Zack Peacock immediately drew GT back within single-digits with his first three of the game. That was compounded by a KU offensive foul on Darrell Arthur. His third foul put him on the bench. Darnell Jackson drew his third foul just before the game went into the first full break of the second half.

Halftime, KU leads 36-29

Russell Robinson made one of two free throws out of the timeout to extend KU’s lead to 30-27 with just over three minutes to play in the first stanza.

Georgia Tech’s response was a turnover on the baseline while trying to work the ball for an easy two. On the way back down, Robinson was again fouled, this time in the double bonus while bringing the ball up to get himself two more shots at the line. Robinson again made one of two to give himself 10 points on the night, and Darnell Jackson’s tip out helped KU control the offensive board. It paid off, as Mario Chalmers swished a three atop the key to put KU back up quickly by seven points with a modest 5-0 run.

Brandon Rush compounded GT’s struggles by drawing the third foul of the game on the Jackets’ leading scorer – Anthony Morrow – by taking a charge to the right of the hoop.

Chalmers then drove and kicked out to Sherron Collins, who was short off the rim on a three look. But Brandon Rush took down the offensive board and ultimately hit a pull-up jumper from the right wing to give KU its biggest lead yet at 36-27.

Darnell Jackson then ripped the ball away from Gani Lawal in the post, but KU turned it over on the other end and it resulted in GT’s Matt Causey getting to the free throw line with :33.9 left in the half.

Causey hit both charities, but KU couldn’t convert going into the half, with Russell Robinson missing a last-second three look.

Despite the miss, Robinson led KU with 10 points in the first half, including a pair of threes from the left corner. KU was a modest 12-of-25 from the floor, while Mario Chalmers chipped in seven of his own, including a late three which helped KU gain some separation on the scoreboard. GT’s Lewis Clinch leads all scorers with 12 points so far.

3:27, first half, KU leads 29-27

Sasha Kaun tipped a pair of Alade Aminu passes out of the timeout and controlled the rebound off the second one to send the ball back with the Jayhawks still up by four. From there, Sherron Collins hit his first three of the game to put KU up 26-19. Anthony Morrow scored two on the other end to keep the Jackets within five.

Russell Robinson kept the party from deep going, hitting his second three of the game to give KU its biggest lead yet at 29-21, but Georgia Tech went to the line in the bonus on its next offensive possession, with Gani Lawal hitting one of two.

GT failed to pull any closer off of a KU turnover, but then the Jayhawks did the same, with Collins seeing his acrobatic layup attempt just drip off the left side of the rim.

Lewis Clinch became the game’s first double-digit scorer, putting in a fadeaway jumper after bumping off of Rodrick Stewart. He hit the free throw that went with it to pull GT back within four at 29-25 with just under five minutes to play. Sasha Kaun’s big first half all around the floor then continued, as he caused a loose ball tie-up by getting after it on the floor in the backcourt while trying to corral a steal. The possession stayed with GT.

The Jackets continued to chip back, though, making it six unanswered points since Robinson’s three as D’Andrew Bell knifed right down the lane, elevated and threw home a two-handed slam, forcing Bill Self to call a 30-second timeout. Russell Robinson then drew contact on a shot at the 3:27 mark, going into the half’s final full timeout.

7:29, first half, KU leads 23-19

Mario Chalmers made his presence felt right out of the media timeout, swiping his first pass at midcourt and swooping in for an awkward layup to put KU back up by two.

Then, after some sweltering backcourt defense, Sasha Kaun got himself to the free throw line for the second time after being hacked going up to finish off a nice Sherron Collins dish underneath. He hit both, making him 4-of-4 so far from three-point range.

After a brief scoreless stretch on both ends, D’Andre Bell scored two on a dish inside from Clinch. But Mario Chalmers took back all of the momentum created with that with a two-handed follow-up dunk off a Darrell Arthur miss on the front iron. Chalmers almost didn’t get back in time on defense while yelling underneath the hoop in celebration, but it didn’t come back to haunt KU as GT couldn’t follow up.

11:32, first half, game tied 17-17

Jackson missed the free throw to go with his bucket out of the timeout, but after a Sherron Collins midcourt steal on GT’s next trip, Sasha Kaun got to the free throw line and calmly put away both, putting KU up by two. Kaun then swatted Jeremis Smith on the other end, which left the home crowd wanting a foul call.

After Kaun had a lob pass from Sherron Collins on the other end, KU made the critical mistake of fouling Lewis Clinch while attempting a three. Clinch hit two of three to tie the game again, 12-12.

Russell Robinson put KU back up top with a three from the left corner, giving him five points so far. Sherron Collins tried to match Robinson after a Georgia Tech three miss, but was off target long.

KU’s defensive pressure up, forcing GT into a timeout with D’Andre Bell caught in a halfcourt trap right at the midcourt line. Out of the timeout, though, Zack Peacock hit a long two to pull GT back within one. Sherron Collins’ first points of the game – a slashing two – put KU back up by three, but just moments later, Lewis Clinch hit his first three of the game, tying it at 17-17.

15:39, first half, game tied 10-10

Russell Robinson controlled the game’s opening tip, and after KU worked the perimeter for a bit, Darrell Arthur missed a baseline jumper, taken down by Georgia Tech. On the other end, Anthony Morrow, the Jackets’ leading scorer, cashed a three from the left wing, giving GT the lead just under a minute in.

KU responded, with Darnell Jackson taking a post entry feed from Brandon Rush, spinning and dropping in two off the iron. Russell Robinson then stole the ball from Matt Causey in a trap at halfcourt, but as Robinson was escaping with the ball, Causey held onto Robinson’s shorts and drew an intentional foul call. The KU senior calmly drilled both free throws. On the possession following the charities, KU kept rolling, with Robinson flipping a lob pass to Brandon Rush, flushing it home to give KU a 6-3 lead. On the other end, a GT turnover kept momentum with the guests.

Darrell Arthur made it an 8-0 KU run by driving the right baseline and flushing home a pair with two hands. Arthur, though, then drew his second quick foul in a trap on Causey up near midcourt. Sasha Kaun came in to replace the big man at the 17:58 mark.

Brandon Rush tried to extend KU’s lead with a three from the left side, but after missing long, Lewis Clinch ended GT’s mini-drought with two inside off the glass, making it 8-5, KU.

KU turned it over on its next offensive trip, and Anthony Morrow tied the game up for the Jackets, cashing his second three-pointer of the game.

Rush took a seat in place of Rodrick Stewart right at the 16-minute mark after Darnell Jakcson turned it over by losing the ball off his foot. Lewis Clinch scored his second bucket inside to put GT on top 10-8, but Jackson redeemed himself, taking a nifty inside pass from Stewart and finishing while getting fouled to knot it up, 10-10, going into the game’s first full break.

Pregame

ATLANTA – Almost three years after winning an overtime thriller over Georgia Tech in Lawrence on New Year’s Day, KU returns the trip tonight in Atlanta, with the Jayhawks holding an unscathed 10-0 record and the No. 3 spot in the polls.

KU is riding high after thumping Ohio Saturday afternoon, 88-51, in the Sprint Center. The Jayhawks brandished their well-spread ability to dominate on both ends of the floor. Defensively, KU held Ohio to just a 28.3 percent showing from the floor, including a sub-20 percent performance in a first half in which the Bobcats put away just one two-point field goal. KU will need a defensive showing like that tonight in Atlanta, going against a 4-4 Georgia Tech team which has the same offensive balance as the Jayhawks do (both teams have five players averaging in double digits in the points column). The difference on paper, though, is in how the teams defend. While KU is holding teams to under 60 points per game, Georgia Tech has allowed opponents to average more than the Yellow Jackets score themselves.

Tech is playing its first home game since Nov. 9 in its sseason opener – an 83-74 loss. Big name opponents this year are nothing new for GT, which defeated Notre Dame (70-69), then lost to Vanderbilt and Indiana by a combined 17 points. Though KU is the first non-ACC Top 10 team to come to the Alexander Memorial Coliseum since 1989.

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