Nick KrugKansas City, Mo. ? The Kansas University men’s basketball team built a 21-point lead, saw it slip away completely and then flashed some of that signature toughness to survive a heck of a battle at Sprint Center on Saturday, 63-60 over Utah.
After exploding for 11 points in the early going, Perry Ellis went quiet most of the rest of the way. However, with just under 2 minutes remaining, Ellis drove to the rim and hit his first bucket since the 9:19 mark of the first half to give KU a 57-55 lead.
The Jayhawks were far from out of the woods at that point, but some clutch free throw shooting and tough defense down the stretch helped No. 10 KU (8-1) survive a heck of a fight from the 13th-ranked Utes (7-2).
Ellis led KU with 14 points. Jamari Traylor added 13 and 5 rebounds in his return to the floor. And Frank Mason III chipped in 10 points and 5 assists to help KU hold on.
Here’s a quick look back at some of the action:
• The game turned when: Utah refused to lay down and die at halftime. Despite trailing by 21 points after the first possession of the second half (42-21), the Utes kept scratching and clawing and ultimately pulled ahead with just under five minutes to play. The 55-53 lead was Utah’s first since 17-16 in the first half and it came in large part because of some hot shooting but also because the Utah defense really seemed to frustrate and confuse KU’s offense during the 34-11 run. On the KU side of things, the offense caught up with the KU defense midway through the second quarter to help Kansas build its lead. After a slow start in which Ellis was the only Kansas player who could get anything to drop, the rest of the crew came alive, with Mason, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Wayne Selden Jr. all knocking in jumpers to help KU rip off a 23-2 run that turned a 17-16 deficit into a 39-19 lead.
• Offensive highlight: This usually goes to a Jayhawk, but it just does not seem right to not mention the nasty dunk thrown down by Utah’s Delon Wright late in the first half. Despite his team struggling to get anything offensively (Utah scored just 4 points in the final 10 minutes of the first half), Wright crossed his man over at the top of the key, drove right and then elevated over two KU defenders near the rim. Not content to just throw something toward the rim, Wright cocked the ball back with his right arm and flushed it with authority.
• Defensive highlight: Traylor jumped back into action after a one-game suspension with a pretty nice game. None of his contributions, however, were as impressive as his sky-walking swat of a layup attempt by Jakob Poeltl early in the second half. Trailing the play, Traylor flew down the lane, rose above the rim and violently rejected a shot by Poeltl, who surely thought he was all alone and on his way to an easy bucket. It was a great display of the Traylor’s athleticism. One minute later, he subbed out of the game to a nice ovation from the Sprint Center crowd.
• Key stat: There were a couple of key blocks by the Jayhawks down the stretch (a couple of them on three-point shots as Utah attempted to tie) but KU’s 25-11 advantage in bench points proved to be as big as anything in this one.
• Up next: The Jayhawks will get a break from their rough and rugged schedule, as they’ll be off all week until next Saturday’s 2 p.m. home game against Louisiana-Lafayette.
