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KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2010 / SPORTS
5B
MISSOURI 56
Junior guard Yreel Reed grabs a steal during the second half against Missouri. Reed came away with 11 points with three, three-point basket and two frenthroats.
Weston White/KANSAN
TBALL REWIND
White/KANSA ped up after
After a slow start, Kansas' bench saves game
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Coming into Saturday's game, Kansas didn't have a lot left to play for.
For 10 minutes, the Jayhawks
The lajahaws had locked up the conference title outright just the game before. They likely could
have lost and still been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. They were coming off an emotional high, winning against No. 5 Kansas State on Sherron Collins' senior night.
played with
no energy,
telling the Tigers
build a 17-10
lead, Sherron
Collins didn't
take a shot
for the first
16 minutes.
Xavier Henry,
in that same
time frame,
was 0-for-
6 from the field. Tyshawn Taylor missed his first four in that span and eventually his first eight. Then the Kansas bench started to make a difference.
"We couldn't make any shots and then Markieff came off the bench and sparked us."
"I thought we could get off to a slow start," Self said. "I didn't think our energy in the locker room would be close to what Missouri's was. I thought we were excited to play, but there wasn't a typical geeked up environment."
Kansas, though, didn't need production from the starting backcourt. With them scoreless, the Jayhawks had rallied around Markieff Morris and Thomas Robinson off the bench, who combined for 10 points and six
rebounds and didn't miss a shot in the first half.
TYSHAWN TAYLOR Sophomore Guard
"I thought Reed and Markieff and Brady off the bench and Thomas off the bench were all very good," Self said.
"We struggled early," Taylor said. "We couldn't make any shots and then Markieff came off the
The layhawks built a 32-24 lead with just over one minute left in the first half when Collins finally found his offensive game. He scored the game's next eight points to give the layhawks a 40-24 lead and to end the half on a 16-0 run.
bench and really sparked us — had a couple offensive rebounds and quick layups. Tyrel played really well. Brady played really well. So our bench helped us today. They carried us." Self cautioned
Self cautioned at halftime that
the Jayhawks had been in this position a year ago, leading 30-16 against the Tigers at the break, but hadn't been able to hane on.
His speech didn't work. At least not initially.
“Last year we had a 14-point lead at halftime and got beat,” Self said. “We talked about that at halftime and the talk was so good we came out and almost gave it away in the first eight minutes. They didn't even need the whole 20 to cut the lead.”
Within eight minutes, the Tigers had cut Kansas' once-imposing 16-point lead down to just four.
After a couple key plays by Collins, Tyrel Reed knocked down consecutive threes that put the game squarely back under the Jayhawks' command, getting the lead back in double figures with just fewer than nine minutes to go.
It was, again, the bench that killed Missouri's momentum.
and then the second one Ty made a great pass on the break. Just give props to my teammates for getting me open."
"I think at that point in the game they were big shots," Reed said. "The first one I just got in rhythm
Edited by Ashley Montgomery
Weston White/KANSAN
RECAP (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Senior guard Sherron Collins drives down the baseline to dish off a pass to a teammate on the perimeter. Collins had two assists and 12 points in the Jayhawks' 77-56 victory against the Tigers.
"I thought our bench kept our starters fresh," Self said. "I thought when you watched us play out there, you really couldn't tell who our best five players were."
succeed all at once. Even though the starters were struggling, he didn't see a need to put them back in the game.
With 11:45 left in the game, a scary moment happened with one of the Jayhawks' most crucial players. Marcus Morris dove for a rebound and crashed into a table on the sideline, hitting his head and cutting his wrist in the process.
He later returned with a bandage on his wrist and was well enough to go back into the game, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The injury was not considered serious.
Morris said he blacked out for five to 10 seconds and sat on the ground for a few minutes before walking back to the locker room.
"I'm good." Morris said after the game.
Edited by Kelly Gibson
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Townsend
Kansas assistant coach Kurtis Townsend is not in any trouble with the athletics department after giving tickets to an adult film actress for Wednesday's matchup against Kansas State.
Athletics says coach won't be punished
Townsend called two local media outlets to give his side of the story, saying a woman told him on a plane in December she and her brother wanted to go to a game. The actress, whose stage name is Samantha Ryan, only
told Townsenc her real name and that she was a graduate from the University, Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchionn
said it was a harmless act and no punishment will come of it.
Townsend said he didn't see her at the game and hadn't seen her since. Ryan defended the coach on her Twitter account, saying she just made small talk to a person in a Jayhawk jumpsuit, which led to some tickets.
"He was trying to be a good guy to a KU alum, and he was," Marchiony said.
Marchiony said these occurrences are not uncommon.
"That kind of thing happens to all of us in athletics," Marchiony said. "Many times your reaction is, 'Hey, yeah. Give me a call and if there are tickets available they are available."
Now the game is over and everyone involved with the situation just wants it put to rest. A spokesperson from the team said Townsend sent out his message to the two media outlets and that all he will save on the subject.
"Wednesday she came to the game and that was the end of it." Marchiony said.
Corey Thibodeaux
Game to remember
Reed has always stuck to the shadows a little bit in his career, but it doesn't seem to be that way against Missouri. In two games against the Tigers this year, Reed, who grew up a Jayhawks fan, is 7-of-9 from three-point land. Saturday he hit 3-of-5, including two on back-to-back possessions that iced the game for Kansas.
Junior guard Tyrel Reed
Reed
Game to forget
Collins
Senior guard Sherron Collins
Apart from a 1 minute and 19 second stretch where he scored eight consecutive points to end the first half, Collins was pretty much ineffective for the Jayhawks in his last game in Columbia. He scored just four points in the other 38:41 and turned the ball over four times against the Tigers' ferocious defense.
Stat of the night
23-8
Missouri, which is known for its bench depth, had problems getting production outside of its starting
five. The Jayhawks, on the other hand, were "carried" by their bench, in the words of Tyshawn Taylor. Kansas' bench outscored the Tigers' by a final tally of 23-8.
Quote of the night
"He did hit his head hard, but he's fine. There's no concussion or anything like that.I've been around him for a while and that's probably the safest place for him to get hit and not get hurt."
— Bill Self, about sophomore forward Marcus Morris, who crashed into a courtside display and had to briefly leave the game.
Self
Prime plays
1ST HALF (SCORE AFTER PLAY)
12:53 Tyrel Reed pumpfaked, then stepped to his left while the defender was in the air and knocked down a three. (10-12)
18:56 Cole Aldrich got the scoring started for the Jayhawks with a two-handed dunk while drawing the foul. Quick redemption for turning the ball over on the first possession. (3-2)
6:52 Sherron Collins tried to split a double team and seemed to take a stumble, but somehow got it perfectly to Marcus Morris for an alley-oop. Jayhawks take back the lead. (20-19)
17:33-Tyshawn Taylor missed a jumper, but Cole Aldrich flew in for a one-handed jam. (44-29)
2ND HALF
The victory puts Kansas at 1,999 all-time wins.
Key stats
1.999
8:46- Kansas found a spark off the bench when Tyrel Reed came in and fired up back-toback threes. (57-42)
10:45- The Jayhawks lost the handle on the game a bit in the second half, but a Sherron Collins layup after a Cole Aldrich block put them back up by double digits. (51-40)
The Jayhawks finish the regular season with a four-game lead in the Big 12 after Kansas State lost at home to Iowa State.
45-28
**End of half** - Sherron Collins hit his first three buckets of the game-back-to-back threes and a layup to end the half.
Jayhawks end it on a 16-0 run.
(40-24)
The Jayhawks outrebounded Missouri 45-28. It's the first
time in three games that they have had more rebounds than an opponent.
Kansas committed a season-low 10 fouls.
5
Five Jayhawks scored in double figures, the most in the past four games.
- Tim Dwyer and Corey Thibodeaux
Weston White/KANSAN
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris grabs a defensive rebound against Missouri during the first half at Mizzou Arena. Morris grabbed 10 boards during 24 minutes on the floor.