JAYHAWK
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Basketball
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SEE PAGE 5B
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Yesterday's game - Kansas vs. Missouri
KANSAS 80
26-3,10-1
RANKED NO.3
SECTION B, PAGE 1
MISSOURI 13-10,5-5 UNRANKED 70
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1998
'Hawks take bite out of Tigers
Redemption
Kansas forward Lester Earl blocks Missouri's Monte Hardge with four minutes to go in the game. The block helped the Jayhawks hold on to a 80-70 victory in Allen Field House yesterday. The Jayhawks play Kansas State Saturday in Manhattan. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
By Tommy Gallagher
tgallagher@kansan.com
Kansas teacher
Forwards Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz stood in the spotlight, but guard C.B. McGrath stole the show.
Pierce and LaFrentz combined for 51 points and 15 rebounds, but McGrath made two critical plays late in the game as No. 3 Kansas battled past Missouri for an 80-70 victory yesterday in Allen Field House.
Pierce said there simply was no chance that the Jayhawks were going to lose yesterday.
"There was too much pressure for us to lose." Pierce said. "I was saying that if we lost this game, we would have to burn down the field house."
Much of that pressure came from the events surrounding the weekend celebration of 100 years of Kansas basketball. Former players and teams were introduced during television timeouts and during a special halftime presentation.
Regardless of the distractions, the Jayhawks were focused on the game during the first half.
The Jayhawks were ahead 17-15 midway through the first half when they went on a 22-8 run. Kansas led Missouri 41-26 at halftime, though the game was far from done.
After Kansas scored the first four points of the second half, the Tigers went on a 16-2 run and pulled within five points, 47-42.
The Jayhawks countered with an 8-0 run, but Missouri had a late 9-2 run. The Tigers trailed by three points, 66-63, with 3:51 remaining.
Pierce said the Jayhawks strayed from the usual game plan early in the second half.
"We went away from what we did best in the second half, and that's getting the ball inside." Pierce said. "Our concentration wasn't there, and we didn't execute on the routine plays like usual. We needed something."
That's when McGrath swung the momentum in the Jayhawks' favor.
McGrath assisted on a LaFrentz layup. McGrath then stole the ball in the Missouri backcourt. He passed to Pierce for another basket, making the score 70-63 with 3:22 left to play.
The Tigers never recovered. Kansas extended the lead to as many as 12 points in the final minute, making field goals and free throws down the stretch.
McGrath, who had three points and three assists, said he had looked for a trend while studying the Tigers during the game.
"The point guard had brought the ball down the court all game," McGrath said. "If he inbounds the ball, they'll need to pass it back to him. I just hung around the three-point line and waited for the pass before I moved in."
LaFrentz had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Pierce finished with 29 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Tigers were led by guard John Woods: He had 18 points and was 7-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-5 shooting from the three-point line. Center Monte Hardge added eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.
Kansas center Roel LaFrentz lays up a shot in between Missouri's Tate Decker and Kelly Thames. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN.
MISSOURI (13-10)
NO. 3 KANSAS 80
MISSOURI 70
MISSOURI/12-10
KANSAS (26-3)
Hafer 3-6 1-2 7, Thames 6-12 5-6 17, Harge 2-7 3-6 7, Grawer 4-5 3-4 14, Woods 7-9 0 0, Lee 2-7 2-3 7, Decker 0-4 0 0, Wampler 0 0 0 0, Weaver 0 0 0 0, Ray 0-1 0 0 0, Parker 0 3 0 0 0, Totals 24-5 4 14-2 17 0.
Pierce 12-18 3-4 29, LaFrentz 9-17 4-5 22,
Pugh 1-4 1 02, Robertson 2-6 4-4 8, Thomas
2-5 2-2 8, Earl 2-3 0-0 4, Gregory 1-2 0-0 2,
Bradford 0-1 0-0 0, McGrath 1-1 1-2 3,
Chenowith 1-1 0-2 2, Teresia 31.5 18 4-19 8.
Haltime—Kansas 4, Missouri 2-6. *Point*
goals—Missouri 8-16 (Woods 4, Graver 3-
4, Lee 1-2, Thames 0-1, Ray 0-1, Parker 0-1,
Hafer 2), Kansas 4-12 (Pierce 2, Thomas 2-
5, LaFrentz 0-1, Gregory 1, Robertson 0-2),
Fouled out—None. *Rebounds*—Missouri
30 (Harge 8), Kansas 35 (Larren 10).
*Assists*—Missouri 17 (Thames, Harge 4),
Kansas 21 (Robertson 9). *Total fouls*—
Missouri 18, Kansas 17. *Attendance*—16,300.
Freshmen spark team to victory
By Kevin C. Wilson Kansan sportswriter
A second-half surge spearheaded by two freshmen and a sensational sophomore lifted the Kansas women's basketball team to a 65-62 triumph over Kansas State on Saturday.
An enthusiastic crowd of 8,200, dominated mostly by young children who were out for Take a Kid to the Game Day, witnessed the Jayhawks battle back from a 10-point halftime deficit.
"It was a great game, a great win, and a great crowd," Coach Marian Washington said. "In the second half I think they played the way they needed to play. It was good to be able to send them back home with a loss."
Washington: honored with flowers on Saturday
hawks battle back from a
Freshman forward Jaclyn Johnson seated the victory within the final seconds with a block of Jenny Coalson's three-point attempt.
The play was reminiscent of the last-second block of Lynn Pride's three-point shot in the Jayhawks' 67-62 loss against Arizona last Saturday.
See SECOND-HALF on page 6B
Mistakes stop Missouri momentum
By Dave Morantz
Kansan managing editor
The Missouri Tigers knew they were walking into a hostile arena yesterday.
A Kansas team high on the emotions of a weekend saturated with celebrations and famous faces awaited the only Big 12 team to defeat the Jayhawks in two seasons.
"We knew coming in that there would be a lot of emotion in this game," said Woods, who scored a career-high 18 points. "We just kept fighting and fighting, and I felt like we had a chance to win this game."
Despite the hype and falling behind by 19 points early in the second half, the Tigers battled back with physical play and an offensive explosion sparked by guards John Woods and Brian Grawer.
The Tigers had that chance late in the game. With four minutes left to play, forward Paul Pierce missed a jump shot that would have put Kansas up by eight. But when Missouri brought the ball down the floor, Woods drained one of his four three-point shots and cut the lead to three.
Visions of Kansas' 57-game home court winning streak crashing to the field house floor crept through the crowd, but forward Raef LaFrentz scored an easy layup on the next play. Guard Billy Thomas shot a picture-perfect three pointer two and a half minutes later, and the Jayhawks rolled to an 80-70 victory.
Grawer, who scored all but one of his 14 points in the second half, said simple mental mistakes and poor execution by Missouri allowed Kansas to increase its lead after Woods' three-point shot.
"We knew we could keep chipping away." "Graver said." But when you play at a place
The Tigers made a 16-2 run propelled by a tough defense that forced Kansas to shoot from the perimeter.
But the physical defense caught up with the Tigers with eight minutes to play. They committed four personal fouls in 11 seconds. Missouri was able to recover though, and its defensive pressure caused Kansas to miss its next three field goals.
The Tigers also did a bit of teaching in the second half. After watching LaFrentz and Pierce score short jump shots and slash through the lane in the first half, Missouri turned up its physical play after halftime.
like this and you're down 15 at halftime, it's hard to come back. We learned a lot here today."
But the Jayhawks also showed their muscle, most notably when forward Lester Earl sent the ball and center Monte Hardge to the floor with a viscous block.
"That's inside play," Hardge said. "It was going on all day. Not a bad play; I just should have gone up stronger."
Hardge and the rest of the Tigers played hard enough to please coach Norm Stewart.
"I was pleased that we were able to come back in the second half," Stewart said. "In the huddle, I really got the feeling that my guys felt they could win the game. This was a game of runs, and our crucial mistake down the stretch was execution."
The Tigers also made the mistake of entering Allen Field House on one of the biggest days in Kansas basketball history.
"There may be tougher, but this is an incredible place to play and an incredible environment," Stewart said. "You can learn a lot about your players and team when you play in a place like this. We're just happy to be a part of their weekend."
Missouri head coach Norm Stewart reacts to a call by an official. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
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