THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013 --- KANSAS 108. IOWA STATE 96 PAGE 7 MEN'S BASKETBALL REWIND Kansas 41 | 49 | OT 18 — 108 ISU 40 | 50 | OT 6 — 96 JAYHAWK STAT LEADERS Points Johnson 39 Rebounds Assists Withey 10 Johnson Johnson 7 KANSAS Player Pts FG-FGA Rebs A Kevin Young 13 6-8 9 1 Jeff Withey 13 5-7 10 2 Travis Releford 19 6-12 4 3 Elijah Johnson 39 13-22 5 7 Ben McLemore 7 2-6 3 4 Perry Ellis 8 2-5 6 0 Jamari Traylor 0 0-1 1 0 Naadir Tharper 9 3-7 3 4 Totals 108 37-68 47 21 IOWA STATE
PlayerPtsFG-FGARebsA
Chriss Babb112-713
Melvin Ejim42-570
Korie Lucious235-1345
Will Clyburn164-970
Georges Niang153-1727
Bubu Palo00-001
Anthony Booker51-450
Percy Gibson00-000
Tyrus McGee58-1550
Totals4825-703116
GAME TO REMEMBER Elijah Johnson, senior guard Hands down the best game Johnson has played for the Jayhawks: 39 points, seven assists, five rebounds and only three turnovers. Not to mention he hit shots deep enough to make Jimmer Fredette blush. Of Kansas' 18 overtime points, Johnson factored in 15 of them. Johnson GAME TO FORGET Ben McLemore, freshman guard When McLemore's Kansas career is over, you might have to do a double-take when looking over his stat line at Iowa State. The freshman phenom was invisible in Ames, taking just six field goal attempts and scoring seven points. UNSUNG HERO McLemore Travis Releford, senior guard Before this became Elijah's night, Releford was the reason Kansas was alive. Every time the Jayhawks needed a big shot Releford was there to knock it down, going 5-9 from the three and scoring 19 points. Releford KEY STATS 500 Bill Self's career victory totals Elijah Johnson had the most points by a Jayhawk since Paul Pierce in 1997. 39 iowa State took 41 shots from the three and connected on 17 of them. 41 GEOFFREY CALVERT gcalvert@kansan.com The game was less than three minutes old, but coach Bill Self was already fuming, or at least he appeared to be. Senior point guard Elijah Johnson had just been called for a defensive foul, but Self wanted a travel. "I told (official) Mark Whitehead afterwards, I said, 'You know I tried to get that,' and he said he knew," Self said. "It was too early in the game to get upset. I thought Self "Are you kidding me?" Self screamed at the officials. The rest of what he said was harder to decipher, but it was enough to warrant him a technical foul. Just like when the two teams met at Allen Fieldhouse earlier this season, the Cyclones had a late lead, but again, a Kansas miracle forced overtime. And again, Iowa State never really had much of a chance in overtime. The officials weren't playing a joke on Self. However, by the end of the game, it was Iowa State that must have felt like it was the victim of another cruel joke, this one being a 108-96 overtime Kansas victory. The raucous and vicious Cyclone student section expected for most of the game they that was the best thing to show our team that we came to fight." But it wasn't just Johnson who played well. All four senior starters scored at least 13 points. When seniors Kevin Young and Jeff Withey were saddled with foul trouble in the second half and overtime, freshman forward Perry Ellis stepped up. would get to rush the floor and celebrate when the buzzer sounded. Iowa State shot 17-41 from 3-point range and 29-34 from the free-throw line. "Them making threes is a little bit more deflating then them making twos," Self said. "The last 17 minutes, it became a guard's game." He had perhaps the best game as a Jayhawk, hitting all four of his free-throw attempts and draining two jumpers, one at the top of the key and one on the baseline. With freshman Ben McLemore — the hero of the first Iowa State game — held to only seven points, Ellis became the freshman to step up. And while the Cyclones' guards and even forward Georges Niang rained down 3-pointers all night, it was Johnson who proved to be the best guard on the floor. Self said. "What I was most pleased about, when it looked bad, that's when we made our best plays. We're down seven, and all of a sudden, we scored four points in transition and get it back where it's a one-possession game." Johnson scored 11 points in the final three minutes of regulation play and 12 points in overtime. The senior scored a career-high 39 points, the most ever scored by a Jayhawk in a Big 12 game. Johnson, who has endured a lot of criticism for his play this year after shifting from his natural position as shooting guard to point guard, helped deliver Self his 500th career victory. He had some big key rebounds at the end of the game, and he stepped up and made his free throws," Releford said. "It changed the game a bunch." Many thought the point guard had played his way out of the NBA draft, but representatives from the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trailblazers were on hand to witness his career night. "He's real strategic, in my opinion," Johnson said of Self. "I'm sort of a strategic person, too, so I fell in love with it. I wouldn't rather play for no other coach." When the buzzer sounded — five minutes after many expected — it was Self doing the celebrating, not Iowa State. His Jayhawks remained tied with Kansas State for first place in the Big 12 at 12-3. And self now has 500 wins. "I won't remember 400 or 300 or 200 or 100, but I guarantee I'll always remember this one," Self said. "This was a good one." "it's great to win no matter what, but it's always better to win if you have to go through some crap or show some toughness to win." Edited by Sarah McCabe KEY PLAYS First Half 16:20 — After ISU hits a three, Kansas calls timeout and gets Releford open to answer with a 3-pointer of his own. Iowa State 'sup 14-10. 5:41 — Travis Releford steals the ball from Korie Lucious and goes in for a slam with an assist from Naadir Tharpe. Tie game, 32-32. 0:09 — Naadir Tharpe hits a layup with time running out, giving Kansas the lead going into halftime. Kansas up 41-40. Second Half 4:43 — Jeff Withey grabs a defensive rebound and dishes to Elijah Johnson, who goes coast-to-coast with a niffy behind the back juke in the lane for a layup. Iowa State up 79-74. 0. 05 — After drawing a blocking foul on ISU, Elijah Johnson steps to the line and hits two free throws, tying the game and sending the Jayhawks to overtime. 90 all. 0:15 = Elijah Johnson hits a 3-pointer from way down to downtown to Kansas within a point of the Cyclones, Iowa state up 89-88. Overtime: 4.33 — Elijah Johnson spins into the lane and hits a layup, giving Kansas its first lead since midway through the second half. Kansas up 92-90. 0:54 — As the shot clock expires, Elijah Johnson knocks down a three from near midcourt to give the Jayhawks a commanding lead. Kansas up 103-96. 0. 05 — With time running out, Elijah Johnson runs down the court all alone and puts an exclamation point on his night with a huge slam. Kansas up 108-96. ASSOCIATED PRESS Kansas guard Elijah Johnson (15) shoots against Iowa State's Will Clyburn (21) during the first half of the game on Monday. Johnson scored 39 points in their 108-96 overtime victory. iowa State guard Chris Babb (2) guards Kansas guard Ben McLemore (23) during the first half of Monday's game ASSOCIATED PRESS 心