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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2013
KANSAS 68, OKLAHOMA STATE 67
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SHOWDOWN IN STILLWATER
KU 26 | 31 OT 6 OT2 5 — 68
OSU 26 | 31 OT 6 OT2 4 — 67
Points
JAYHAWK STAT LEADERS
Releford
Releford 18
Rebounds
Withey 14
Assists
Tharpe
Tharpe 3
KANSAS
Player Pts FG-FGA Rebs A TD's
Kevin Young 8 4-9 11 0 4
Jeff Withey 17 3-7 14 0 1
Travis Releford 18 7-10 6 1 3
Elijah Johnson 10 5-9 1 0 2
Ben McLemore 7 3-12 6 1 1
Naadir Tharpe 4 2-11 1 3 4
Jamari Traylor 4 1-2 4 0 0
Perry Ellis 0 0-1 2 0 1
Totals 68 25-61 45 5 16
Player Pts FG-FGA Rebs A TO's
Michael Cobbins 8 4-7 14 0 0
Le Bryan Nash 8 3-10 3 1 4
Phillip Jurick 2 1-1 1 0 0
Markel Brown 20 7-15 5 4 1
Marcus Smart 16 2-14 7 1 2
Brian Williams 0 0-3 3 3 1
Kirby Gardner 0 0-2 0 1 0
Phil Forte 13 4-12 4 0 1
Totals 67 21-64 37 6 9
GAME TO REMEMBER
Naadir Tharpe, Sophmore Guard
For the first time all year, Tharpe had to deliver Kansas a victory without the security blanket of starting point guard Elijah Johnson, who had fouled out. Even though he shot the ball miserably all night, the sophomore delivered, hitting Kansas 'only bucket in overtime with 18 seconds remaining in the second overtime to help Kansas avoid being swept by the Cowboys.
Tharpe
GAME TO FORGET
Ben McLemore, Freshman Guard
He had a highlight-reel dunk in the second half and a key three pointer a few minutes later, but McLemore played passive offense for most of the game, failing to get to the free throw line even once and scoring zero points in the overtime periods. He shot 3-12 from the field.
13. 02- Senior guard Eijah Johnson had a beautiful cross over move and layup to extend Kansas to the biggest lead to the largest lead of the game at that point. (38-33 Kansas)
FIRST HALF
(SCORE AFTER PLAY)
10:06- It took freshman guard Ben McLemore a while to get on the scoreboard, but his two handed dunk after Naadir Tharpe's missed 3-pointer was a nice way to start his scoring night. (42-39 University)
PRIME PLAYS
SECOND HALF
14:02 The first of two alley oops, sophomore guard Naadir Tharpe tossed a pass to senior Jeff Withey for the slam. (8-7 Kansas)
6. 27- Senior forward Kevin Young with a big time slam to put the Jayhawks up by one point in a first half where buckets were scarce. (16-15 Kansas)
OVERTIME
3.51- Jeff Withey made four free throws that helped keep Kansas in the game. (61-
58 Kansas)
McLemore
SECOND OVERTIME
ASSOCIATED PRESS
0:20- Naadir Tharpe with the tear drop floater to put Kansas up at the end of the game. (68-67 Kansas)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas center Jeff Withey, guard Travis Releford and forward Kevin Young react after a foul call against Oklahoma State during the game in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013.
Stars quiet in double overtime thriller
GEOFFREY CALVERT
Oklahoua State forward Kamari Murphy blocks a shot by Kansas forward Perry Ellis during the first half of Wednesday's double overtime game.
Instead, it more closely resembled a game of Whack-a-Mole.
It was expected to be a battle that could decide Big 12 Player of the Year.
gcalvert@kansan.com
Kansas freshman Ben McLemore and Oklahoma State freshman Marcus Smart combined for 58 points the last time the Jayhawks and Cowboys met, an 85-80 Oklahoma State victory in early February.
They didn't come close to that this time. They were quiet for the first 30 minutes, just two bodies on the court, briefly popping up from time to time to hit a free throw here or commit a turnover there.
And after a brief renaissance,
they disappeared again.
Smart finished with 16 points and McLemore had seven, but neither ever got into an offensive rhythm Wednesday night in Stillwater, where the Jayhawks won 68-67 in double overtime.
Both players didn't make a field goal for the first 30 minutes. McLemore was 0-8 from the field in the first half, while Smart was 0-5.
Still, with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, McLemore seemed like he might break out of his doldrums.
After sophomore guard Naadir Tharpe missed a 3-pointer,
McLemore corralled the rebound in midair and unleashed his offensive frustration with a two-handed dunk to put Kansas up by three points.
Three and a half minutes later, he swished a 3-pointer from the corner, and made a layup two minutes later.
But that was his whole night's work. McLemore didn't score for the rest of the game and shot 3-12 to give him seven points. In fact, the whole Kansas team did very little scoring the rest of the night, and didn't make a single field goal in either overtime until Tharpe's jumper with 18 seconds left in the second overtime gave Kansas the lead for good.
Smart didn't convert a field goal until he made a 2-point jumper with 3:21 remaining in the second half. But then he made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 57 points with 1:12 left in regulation. Those were two big buckets for the Cowboys, but they were Smart's only ones of the game. He finished 2-14 from the field.
Oklahoma State's Smart had an equally tough night shooting, and his body paid the price. Smart suffered shoulder and ankle injuries in the first half, and then had another injury in overtime before fouling out with 2:25 left in the second overtime.
than McLemore, because Smart got to the free throw line 14 times and made 11 free throws. McLemore didn't visit the free throw line once.
For all of his offensive struggles, Smart nearly made everyone forget about them. At the end of the first overtime Smart threw up a miracle heave from three-quarters of the court.
But he had a bigger offensive presence throughout the game
It clanked off of the front of the rim, but if it had been another inch
or so longer, the shot of the year would have given the Cowboys control of the driver's seat in the Big 12 title race. Instead, Kansas and Kansas State are tied for first place in the conference at 10-3, while the Cowboys are at 9-4. But Kansas owns the tiebreaker over Kansas State by virtue of its two victories against the Wildcats.
Y
Edited by Megan Hinman
ASSOCIATED PRESS
kansas center Jeff Withey shoots over Oklahoma State forward Philip Jurick during the first half in Stillwater, OKa., Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013.
Oklahoma State guard Brian Williams shoots as Kansas forward Jamari Traylor defends during the first half in Stilwater, OK., Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013.