Monday, March 9, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 3
Jayhawks pounce on Cornhuskers
Rebounds and runs push Kansas into final against Sooners
By Tommy Gallagher
tgallagher@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Never underestimate the importance of a good night's sleep. And rehabilitation.
Kansas crushed Nebraska 91-59 in the semifinals of the Big 12 C
ference Tour-
ference Tournament on Saturday afternoon, as forward Raef LaFrentz rebounded from a sore left shoulder.
But LaFrentz, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds in only 24 minutes, would not have been allowed
to play unless he passed a test by Kansas coach Roy Williams in pre-game warmups. "I told Raef that he would
have to make a three-point shot before I could permit him to play." Williams said. "So he grabs the ball from the referee, turns around and makes a three-pointer. That little rascal really wanted to play today." LaFrentz had been told Friday night that he would not play, but took some anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the pain and swelling in the shoulder. He had not taken any drugs in the two weeks since he sustained the
injury in a Feb.
game against Oklahoma.
LaFrentz said the drugs eased the pain while he plaved.
LaFrentz: played with a bad shoulder
"It wasn't like yesterday where that pain still lingered throughout the game. I
guess we finally found the right ingredient. 'LaFrentz said.
So did the Jayhawks, who improved to 33-3 overall and 17-1 in the Big 12.
Kansas led 9-6 early, but then pounced on the Cornhuskers for the rest of the game.
The Jayhawks used a 23-3 run to extend their lead to 32-9 with 8 minutes left before halftime. Kansas sprinkled a steady dose of smaller runs in the second half as Nebraska (20-11 overall, 11-7 in the Big 12) never came any closer than 23 points.
Nebraska forward Andy Markowski said that his team may have been looking forward to the NCAA Tournament.
"Last night at the hotel, we were sitting around and talking about how we thought that 20 wins would be enough to get us into the tournament," Markowski said. "And while we had won 20 games, today we never came out and played like we had anything else on the line."
Forward Paul Pierce had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists against Braska. Guard Kenny Gregory, in his second start for the injured Billy Thomas this tournament, had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
NEBRASKA (20-11)
KANSAS 91, NEBRASKA 59
KANSAS (33-3)
Chenowith 2-5 2-4 6. Totals 36-72 15-21 91.
Pierce 8-17 0-2 17, LaFrentz 7-
11 5-15 Pugh 2-4 3-4 7,
Robertson 2-7 0-0 6, Gregory 5-
10 1-2 11 Earl 7-11 2-2 16,
Nooner 1-2 0-0 3, Bradford 2-3 2-
2 6, Janisse 0-0 0-0, McGrath
0-0 0-0, Martin 0-1 0-0,
naftime —Kansas 47, Nebraska 23. 3-Point goals —Nebraska 7-23 (Lue 3-10, Piatkowski 2-6, Belcher 2-7), Kansas 4-16 (Robertson 2-6, Nooner 1-2, Pierce 1-5, McGarth 0-1, Gregory 0-2). Fouled out —None.
Rebounds —Nebraska 35 (Hamilton 9), Kansas 53 (LaFrentz 10). Assists —Nebraska 15 (Hamilton, Lue, Belcher, Piatkowski 3), Kansas 26 (Bradford 6). Total fouls —Nebraska 18, Kansas 7. Attendance —NA.
'Hawks claw out win against feisty Wildcats
By Tommy Gallagher
tgallagher@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
KANSAS City, Mo. - Without guard Billy Thomas and with an injured Raef LaFrentz. No. 1-seeded Kansas escaped Kansas
State 68-611 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament on Friday in Kemper Arena.
Paul, Pierce
ied the Jayhawks with 24 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.
After the game, coach Roy Williams said the locker room had resembled something from a war.
"It looks like a M*A*S*H unit in there," Williams said. "We don't have Billy. And Raef was in extreme pain and seems like half the player he was before the injury. Everyone feels a bit down right now, even though we just won the game."
LaFrentz had 13 points and nine rebounds, but was in tears as he received treatment in the locker room for his sore left shoulder after the game.
Thomas missed the first game of his four-year career with a strained left thigh. He sat out the remainder of the tournament, but likely will return for the NCAA tournament.
"I've already missed nine games because of injury, so I don't plan on
missing any
more games.
Especially
n o w,
" laFrentz said
L i k e
La Frentz,
Kansas played
hard but was
not as sharp as
usual.
The Jayhawks shot just 39 percent from
The difference came at the free throw line, where Kansas attempted 32 free throws as opposed to 11 for K-State (17-11 overall, 8-10 in the Big 12).
Pierce: led Kansas with 24 points.
the floor, tying season lows for field goals (23) and three-point shots made (two). However, the Wildcats did not fare much better, shooting 41 percent for the game.
The Kansas starters were 0-for-5 to start the half, prompting Williams to bench the all five in favor of five reserves, including guard and former walk on Terry Nooner, who has received limited playing time this season.
Kansas' offensive showing angered Williams as Kansas (32-3 overall, 16-1 in the Big 12) led 32-24 with 17:29 left in the game.
KANSAS 68 KANSAS STATE 61
"We're supposed to be prepared to play at any time, but that shocked me," Noonner said. "I thought he was making a mistake. But I just relaxed and tried to get comfortable once I got in the game."
KANSAS (32-3)
Pierce 8-207-1024, LaFrentz 4-11-5-6,
13, Pugh 1-5-2-4, Robertson 3-5-1-2-8,
Gregory 2-5-0-1, Earl 2-3-2-4-6, Nooner
0-1-0-0, Bradford 2-5-2-6, Chenowith
1-4-1-1-3, Tallats 23-59-20-62
McColloch 0-2-0-0, Sims 3-4-0-0,
6 Rhodes 2-5-4-9, Griffin 6-1-8
14, Swartzendruber 1-10-1-0,
Vasilijic 0-0-0-0, Dies 5-10-1-2
11, May 6-17-0-0, Reid 2-5-2-6.
Totals 25-61 8-11 611.
Halftime —Kansas 32, Kansas St.
28. 3-Point goals —Kansas St. 12
(Robertson 1-2, Pierce 1-6,
LaFrentz 0-1, Nooner 1-4, Bradford
0-2), Kansas St. 3-17 (Griffin 1-2,
Rhodes 1-3, May 1-4, Swartzendru-
ber 0-6, Reid 1-2). Fouled out —
None. Rebounds —Kansas 40
(Lafrent 9), Kansas St. 37 (Dies)
9). Assists —Kansas 11 (Robert-
son 5), Kansas St. 13 ( Rhodes 5).
Total fouls —Kansas 15, Kansas
St. 21. Attendance —NA.
KANSAS ST. (17-11)
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