SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, January 11, 1994
Jayhawks victorious in holiday hoops
Overtime thriller against Indiana highlights break
By Gerry Fey
Kansan sportswriter
Entering Big Eight conference play, Kansas is 15-1 and ranked No. 5 by the Associated Press. The Jayhawks won all of their games during winter break, including the Golden Harvest Classic and an overtime victory against Indiana. Kansas won 11 straight games heading into its match up against Oklahoma yesterday.
DEC.11
KANSAS 98, ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK 63
Dec. 11: Senior forward Patrick Richey scored a team-high 20 points and five Kansas players scored in double figures while leading the Jayhawks past Arkansas-Little Rock.
The Kansas defense held the Trojans to 31.3 percent from the field, while the Jayhaws shot a season-high 58.6 percent themselves.
The evening was capped off in the second half when freshman guard Jacque Vaughn drove into the lane, faked a behind-the-back pass and laid the ball up over his head. He made the basket, was fouled and later made the free throw.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said he did not mind Vaughn taking the shot as long as it went in.
"I think he has a tremendous flair for the game," he said. "I liked it, but I don't have to do cartwheels over there."
KANSAS 89. GEORGIA 79
DEC.18
Kansas defeated Georgia at the Georgia Dome, the site of this year's Super Bowl, and improved its record to 9-1. Seniors Richard Scott and Steve Woodberry led Kansas with 23 points each.
Freshman guard Jacque Vaughn had a career high 17 points and freshman center Scott Pollard added 11 in the effort. Pollard contributed eight points in the first half, helping Kansas
to a 41-34 halftime lead.
Georgia never led, but the Jayhawks had to survive a run by the Bouldings in the second half. Kansas retaliated with a 17-5 run, making the score 75-59. In that time, Woodberry had six points and one assist.
DEC.20
KANSAS 101. FURMAN 60
The Jayhawks scored more than 100 points for the first time this season and improved its record to 10-1. Kansas had six players score in double figures and Richard Scott led the team with 14 points.
Kansas shot 61.9 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from threepoint range. Junior Greg Gurley made three of three three-pointers and finished with 13 points.
Defensively, Kansas held the Paladins to a 34.4 field goal percentage. The Jayhawks also caused 22 turnovers.
DEC. 22
KANSAS 86. INDIANA 83
DEC. 22
The finish was not the way Kansas coach Roy Williams wanted to end Kansas' 86-83 overtime victory against Indiana on Dec. 22, but freshman Jacue Vaughn's last-second ending wasn't bad.
"Special people are put there to do special things, and Jacque is one of those people," Williams said. "It was a hugger. You hug everybody and don't care how sweaty they are." Williams said he wanted another overtime to battle against his adversary, Indiana coach Bobby Knight. He said he respected Knight and wanted the game to continue.
But Vaughn would not let that happen.
First, Vaughn passed to senior Steve Woodberry who nailed a jump shot, giving Kansas a 83-80 lead with 38.1 seconds left in overtime.
Indiana responded with a threepointer by Hoosier standout Damon Bailey, over the outstretched arm of Woodberry, which left Kansas with 18.3 seconds. Bailey ended with 36 points, but he would not be the star of the night.
Kansas' last play was set up for Woodberry, but he could not get open on either wing. Vaughn ended up with
the ball on the right side as the clock ran down. Guarded closely by Indiana guard Todd Leary, Vaughn headfaked and shot a three-pointer that went in cleanly to win the game.
Indiana had 0.2 seconds left, but the inbounds play didn't work. After the game, Vaughn ran victory laps around the court, while senior Richard Scott walked on press row tables.
Kansas sophomore Sean Pearson, who hit his own clutch basket late in overtime to give the Jayhawks an 81-80 lead, said he was supposed to pick the player guarding Woodberry on the last play. Woodberry had seven of Kansas' 31 overtime points.
"Steve was going to come out either side," Pearson said. "Steve got in foul trouble early. We knew that somebody had to step up until Steve could do something."
Williams said the experience will be good for Kansas and Vaughn.
"What it does is it gives you confidence that you can execute down the stretch," he said. "He prayed and it was answered. What he did tonight, he will remember for the rest of his life."
Doug Hesse / KANSAN
Kansas forward Richard Scott goes up for two points against Furman.
DEC.29-30
THE GOLDEN HARVEST CLASSIC KANSAS 73, RHODE ISLAND 60 KANSAS 84, SOUTHERN METHODIST 64
Kansas won the holiday tournament led by the inside scoring of senior forward Richard Scott, who scored 17 points in both games. Freshman guard Jacque Vaughn also scored 17 against SMU.
Senior guard Steve Woodberry made 10 assists, and junior center Greg Ostertag pulled down 24 rebounds during the two-game tournament.
Scott was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, and Vaughn also made the All-Tournament team.
Junior guard Greg Gurley continued his solid shooting by making all three of his field goal attempts which included a three-pointer. Gurley is shooting 51 percent from the field after 45 games, the highest shooting percentage of any of the Kansas guards.
KANSAS 90, NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE 44
Every scholarship player scored for the Kansas, as the Jayhawks rolled over the Bulldogs.
JAN. 5
Senior guard Steve Woodberry made seven of nine field goals and led the Jayhawks with 16 points. Junior guard Calvin Rayford scored eight points and tied a career high with eight assists.
Sophomore guard Sean Pearson made two of four three-pointers for his six points, and senior center Greg Ostertag finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
utes, and walk-on guards T.J. Whatley and Blake Weichbrodt played a season-high five minutes.
No starter played more than 21 min-
Weichbrot failed to score, but contributed an assist. Whatley, however, awed the crowd by driving the lane, making the lay-up, and drawing the foul. Whatley made the free throw to complete the three-point play.
JAN. 8
KANSAS 91, SOUTHERN METHODIST 59
The Jayhawks won their 11th game in a row by holding the Mustangs to 33.3 percent shooting from the field. Kansas senior forward Richard Scott led all scorers with 22 points and
junior center Greg Ostergt added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Kansas defeated SMU a week earlier in the Golden Harvest Classic, 84-64.
The Jayhawks turned up the defensive pressure at 14:53 in the first half. At that point, Kansas went on a 23-0 run and led 47-21 at halftime.
Scott, normally a 48 percent free-throw shooter, was six for eight from the line. Sophomore Calvin Rayford, an 11 percent three-point shooter, was two for two from the three-point line. Rayford ended with 10 points and six assists.
"We're exactly where we want to be," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "We're better than we were at the beginning of December."