ANSAN
61,
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, JANUARY 29. 2013
PAGE 9
KANSAN Factory
WEST VIRGINIA 56
KANSAN he
REWIND
TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN
Senior forward Kevin Young plays tough defense in the second half of Monday nights game against West Virginia. The Jawahraws were victorious in their first ever match up against the Mountaineers this monday night with a final score of 61-56.
Jayhawks win despite tight margin
RYAN MCCARTHY
rmccarthy@kansan.com
It was another ugly win for the Jayhawks.
In its 61-56 victory over West Virginia on Monday night, Kansas showed not only its struggles on offense, but also some mounting problems with free throws. The layhaws shot 52.9 percent for the game from the free-throw line.
Despite all these missteps, the Jayhawks managed to extend their winning streak to 18 games on the season in their first trip to Morgantown, W. Va., which is the longest streak in the country at the moment.
For the game, Kansas ended up making 18 of the possible 34 free throws, which contributed to the team never jumping to an extended
lead in the second half.
The only players to show consistency in both halves was fifth-year senior guard Travis Releford, who came up with a big three pointer with 7:30 remaining in the game to keep the Mountaineers at bay, and senior center Jeff Withey, who also had a big first half with 13 points.
Releford was one of Kansas' leading scorers with 15 points in the game. He also finished with four rebounds, four assists and two steals to fill out his stat sheet.
Senior forward Kevin Young struggled during some aspects of the game, but managed to put together seven points and seven rebounds.
Withey only had two points in the second half, but still managed to have four blocks and seven rebounds for the game.
Despite being in foul trouble for much of the game, freshman guard Ben McLemore still scored 13 points on five-of-six shooting.
The Mountaineers main offensive output came from junior forward Aaric Murray, who was the first man off the bench. He finished the game with 17 points and knocked down three 3-pointers.
He also grabbed two rebounds and one block in the first 20 minutes.
Sophomore guard Jabarie Hinds also contributed off the bench for West Virginia and scored eight points.
Although the Mountaineers starters scored a total of 26 points, they still managed to get some offensive output from sophomore guard Juwan Staten, who scored
14 points.
The game started out swimmingly for the Jayhawks, who held the Mountaineers without a field goal until the 12:32 remaining in the first half.
The jayhaws also knocked down back-to-back threes in the first two minutes that led them to an early 14-0 run.
Freshman forward Perry Ellis was one of the lone players to score off the Kansas bench with four points.
Senior guard Elijah Johnson still struggled running the offense with six points, five rebounds and three turnovers.
Edited by Taylor Lewis
GAME TO REMEMBER
There wasn't much good play that came out of this game, but Relefond provided a much-needed consistency in an otherwise lackluster performance. He's the rock of this team and will be crucial in the come days as Kansas continues to work through their offensive troubles.
Travis Releford, senior guard
Releford
GAME TO FORGET
Elijah Johnson, senior guard
SCHEDULE
At this point it looks like Elijah Johnson is struggling at the point guard position. He finished this game with six points and five rebounds, but the three turnovers and inconsistent guard play is what continues to trouble Kansas fans.
Johnson
*all games in bold are at home
Date Opponent Result/Time
Oct. 30 EMPORTIA STATE W, 88-54
Nov. 5 WASHBURN W, 62-50
Nov. 9 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE W, 74-55
Nov. 13 MICHIGAN STATE L, 67-64
Nov. 15 CHATTANOOGA W, 69-55
Nov. 19 WASHINGTON STATE W, 78-41
Nov. 20 SAINT LOUIS W, 73-59
Nov. 26 SAN JOSE STATE W, 70-57
Nov. 30 OREGON STATE W, 84-78
Dec. 8 COLORADO W, 90-54
Dec. 15 BELMONT W, 89-60
Dec. 18 RICHMOND W, 87-59
Dec. 22 OHIO STATE W, 74-66
Dec. 29 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY W, 89-57
Jan. 6 TEMPLE W, 69-62
Jan. 9 IOWA STATE W, 97-89 (OT)
Jan. 12 TEXAS TECH W, 60-46
Jan. 14 BAYLOR W, 61-44
Jan. 19 TEXAS W, 64-59
Jan. 22 KANSAS STATE W, 59-55
Jan. 26 OKLAHOMA W, 67-54
Jan. 28 WEST VIRGINIA W, 61-56
Feb. 2 OKLAHOMA STATE 3 p.m.
Feb. 6 TCU 8 p.m.
Feb. 9 OKLAHOMA 3 p.m.
Feb. 11 KANSAS STATE 8 p.m.
Feb. 16 TEXAS 8 p.m.
Feb. 20 OKLAHOMA STATE 8 p.m.
Feb. 23 TCU 3 p.m.
Feb. 25 IOWA STATE 8 p.m.
March 2 WEST VIRGINIA 1 p.m.
March 4 TEXAS TECH 6 p.m.
March 9 BAYLOR 5 p.m.
PRIME PLAYS
FIRST HALF
(SCORE AFTER PLAY)
18:14 - Senior guard EliJiah Johnson and freshman guard Ben McLemore back to-back three, giving Kansas an early lead. (6-2 Kansas)
6. 23 — McLemore with a steal and a dunk that extended Kansas' lead to one of the largest in the half. Senior forward Travis Releford also made a bucket soon after. (29-14 Kansas)
0:00 - Jabarie Hinds beat the buzzer to put the lead under double figures for the Mountaineers go into halftime. (38-30 Kansas)
18:35 - Releford opened up the second half with a basket after 90 seconds of struggling to score by both teams. (40-30 Kansas)
SECOND HALF
14:38 – This was the moment where West Virginia came close to tying Kansas on the game tonight. (42-40 Kansas)
7:30 — With Kansas struggling to pull away from the Mountaineers all night, Reefole was one of the few players that came up big the second half. He hit a big three at this moment in the game. (55-46 Kansas)