KANSAS 26-1, 12-1 RANKED NO. 1 79 MISSOURI 13-13, 5-8 UNRANKED U N I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N JAYHAWK BASKETBALL 67 PAGE 10 TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 18, 1997 No.1 Kansas 79. Missouri 67 KANSAS (26-1) FG FT TP 22 Pierce 10-18 2-4 4-7 Williams 10-18 2-4 4-7 LaFontaine 11-15 9-11 31 Hasea 1-5 4-5 37 Vaughn 2-3 4-5 37 Fujii 2-3 2-3 6 Thomas 1-6 2-2 6 Bradford 0-0 0-0 0 Robertson 0-0 0-0 0 28-16 19-27 79 MISSUOUR (13-13) Tate FG FT TP Thames 0-1 1 0 0 Grimm 4-10 8-9 16 Ray 4-12 0-1 10 Ray 1-3 1-4 3 Lee 8-13 1-1 20 Sutherland 5-10 0-0 14 Decker 2-4 0-0 0 Alouche 0-1 0-0 0 Weather 0-0 0-0 0 Total 24-54 10-15 67 Haitime: Kanaas 36, Missouri 32. 3-Point goals: Missouri 9-20 (Grimm 10). Missouri 4-12 (Haase 4-12) (Haase 4-12, Vaughn 1-3, Thomas 1-3, Robertson 1-2, Kauffer 1-2, Vaughn 1-2, Kauffer 1-2, Rebelton Missouri 32 (Grimm 9). Kauffer (LFrentz 10). Assist: Kanaas 9 (Ray 4), Kauffer 10 (Reynolds 14), Kauffer 12, 24, Kauffer 19. Technicals: Grimm A; 16, 30. wame notes Forward Raef LaFrentz matched a career high with 31 points and scored the most points in a conference game during the Roy Williams era. LaFrentz surpassed Mark Randall's 30-point record, which was set in 1991 against Iowa State. - LaFrentz also topped the 20-point mark for the eighth consecutive game. That is the longest stretch of 20-plus performances by any Kansas player under Williams. The Jayhawks extended their home-court winning streak to 43, which is the longest in Division I. Missouri guard Tyron Lee scored a career-high 20 points. Ryan Robertson hit a 40-foot shot at the haftime buzzer. The three-point goal was the sophomore guard's only basket in the game. AP Men's Top 25 The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college men's basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 16. rank team rec pts pvs **K. Kansas (68)** 25-1 1,748 1 **M. Minnesota (68)** 22-2 1,649 3 **K. Kentucky** 24-3 1,622 4 **W.ake Forest** 20-3 1,512 2 **U. Utah** 19-3 1,447 5 **D. Duke** 21-5 1,438 6 **I.owa St.** 18-4 1,284 9 **B.Clemson** 20-5 1,247 7 **S.outh Carolina** 18-6 1,129 12 **N.New Mexico** 20-4 1,091 13 **C.incinnati** 19-5 996 8 **N.North Carolina** 17-6 906 16 **A.rizona** 16-6 882 11 **M.aryland** 19-6 874 10 **L.ouisville** 19-5 707 17 **X.avier, Ohio** 18-4 646 19 **U.CLA** 15-7 565 24 **M.ichigan** 17-7 558 14 **V.illanova** 18-7 320 18 **St. Stanford** 15-6 319 22 **21. Colorado** 17-7 268 15 **22. Col., of Charleston** 23-2 252 25 **23. Illinois** 18-7 249 20 **24. Indiana** 20-7 186 — **25. California** 18-7 171 — AP Women's Top 25 The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college women's basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 9. rank team rec pts pvs 1. Connecticut (37) 24-0 1,019 1 2. Old Dominion (3) 23-1 982 2 3. Stanford (1) 25-1 950 3 4. North Carolina 22-1 881 5 5. Georgia 20-4 858 6 6. Alabama 21-4 857 7 7. Louisiana Tech 22-3 773 4 8. Tennessee 20-7 753 8 9. Texas 17-4 623 11 10. Florida 18-6 612 10 11. Virginia 19-5 603 9 12. Kansas 19-4 556 14 13. LSU 21-3 526 13 14. Texas Tech 16-6 449 18 15. Vanderbilt 16-7 436 12 16. Notre Dame 22-5 355 17 17. Illinois 19-2 328 15 18. Stephen F. Austin 22-3 306 19 19. Michigan St. 19-5 329 20 20. Arkansas 17-7 210 21 21. Glemson 16-8 189 22 22. Duke 17-7 171 18 23. Geo. Washington 20-4 147 24 24. Tulane 21-3 128 25 25. W. Kentucky 17-7 97 — Jayhawks avenge season's only loss By Bill Petulla Kansan sportswriter Behind forward Rael LaFrente's 31 points, Kansas was able to hold off Missouri 79-67 last night at Allen Field House and average its only loss of the season. That's why it's called a rivalry Despite the 12-point winning margin, Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams lauded the play of Missouri (13-13 overall and 5-7 in the Big 12 Conference). "I take them against anybody in the country." Williams said. "It's really anybody's game with three minutesleft." "They had a tough time matching up with Raef inside," Williams said. "Raef was about as impressive as I've ever seen." Williams said one major factor in the game was Missouri's inability to counter LaFrentz, who he thought had one of the finest games of his career. LaFrentz finished the The second half opened with Missouri cutting the Kansas lead to two points on a jumper by forward/guard Tyron Lee. Less than a minute later LaFrentz, cutting to the basket, caught a missed shot by Vaughn with one hand and was able to slam it in. "We set up a play to either Jacque (Vaughn) or Ryan, either one, and Ryan made a heck of a shot out of it," Williams said. "I even thought he could have gotten one or two steps closer to the basket." I dunk on Jacque's miss was as big a play as I've ever seen," Williams said, "and I've The crowd erupted and Williams said the slam was among the most outstanding plays he's seen in his coaching career. With Robertson's bomb, Kansas took a fourpoint lead into the intermission, 36-32 — the identical score of the game at Missouri on Feb. 4. game with 31 points, tying his career high, which he set Dec. 7 against UCLA. LaFrentz's 31 points were the most by a Jayhawk under the reign of Williams. Kansas forward Paul Pierce also chipped in with 22 points. Pierce and LaFrentz combined for 67 percent of the Jayhawks' offense. Following Grimm's basket, Kansas guard Ryan Robertson drove the ball to just inside of the half-court line and launched a successful 38-foot jump shot at the buzzer. From the opening tip, the game was a dogfight. Kansas scored first on a turnaround jump shot by LaFrentz. The scoring went back and forth as the lead changed hands five times in the first half. Midway through the first half, Kansas broke four-point Missouri lead and went on a 10-0 run. The Tigers, however, clawed their way back to within one point on a jumper by center Derek Grimm with five seconds remaining. Roy Williams Kansas head coach Williams said the play was designed. been around a lot of high flvers." Although Kansas had scored more than 100 points in its last two conference games, the Jayhawks weren't able to deliver the knockout punch on Missouri until late in the game. With 40 seconds remaining, guard Jerod Haase sank three free throws, putting the Jayhawks in front by 10 points and icing the "It's unfortunate that kind of thing had to happen because it had been a heck of a basketball game at that time," Williams said. Pierce, who thought the win was among his finest as a Jayhawk, said the Jayhawks had been ready for a difficult game against Missouri. game. On the following Kansas possession, Grimm was tagged with a flagrant foul, his fifth, and Missouri guard Jason Sutherland also picked up his fifth foul. A minor scuffle ensued. "They're a tough team," Pierce said. "We expected it to be a tough grudge match. We didn't expect them to roll over for us." Right: Forward Raef LaFrentz snags a rebound and follows with a monsterous slam dunk over Missouri's Tyron Lee. LaFrentz scored a game-high 31 points, which also tied his career high, in Kansas' 79-67 victory against Missouri on Monday in Allen Field House. Steve Puppe / KANSAN Tyler Wirken / KANSAN Forward Paul Pierce fights his way to the basket between Missouri's Kelly Thames and Derek Grimm. Pierce roars back, scores 22 points Forward is determined not to watch another loss By Adam Herschman Kansan sportswriter The Missouri Tigers ate up Paul Pierce two weeks ago. But he was not going to let it happen again. Pierce was on the Allen Field House floor for 34 minutes and erupted for 22 points and nine rebounds in the Jayhawks' 79-67 victory against Missouri. But he was not going to be here. "This was the game I was really psyched up for because they beat us," Kansas forward Pierce said. "And if they were going to beat us this time, I wanted to be out there to have something to do with it." "It was hard for me to watch last time being on the bench most of the game because of my foul trouble," he said. because of my hard work Pierce scored four points in 17 minutes 5 before fouling out in Kansas' only loss of the season on Feb. 4 at the Hearnes Center. Along with Kansas forward Raef LaFrentz's 31 points, Pierce helped spark Kansas' frontcourt. Last night Kansas' backcourt scored 20 points, while the frontcourt produced 59 points. In the loss to Missouri, the Jayhawk backcourt carried the load with 62 of the 94 points. "Obviously, he was a difference," Decker said. "There wasn't really anything we could do about it." "Offensively, I thought he was very important to us tonight," said Roy Williams, Kansas men's basketball coach, about Pierce. Missouri forward Tate Decker said Pierce was a factor. Pierce also was important on the defensive end. He led the team with four steals. Kansas guard Billy Thomas said Pierce had to be conscious of picking up fouls. Pierce had only two personal fouls. "he just came out tonight and played typical Paul Pierce basketball: slashing to the basket, getting rebounds, making a 15-foot jumper. And that's what he did all night," Thomas said. "I think each game we're taking another step to getting where we want to be." Paul Pierce Kansas forward Pierce said it was about time for the team to start picking it up. "I think each game we're taking another step to getting where we want to be," Pierce said. 'Hawks win without standouts Individual statistics not important to team By Tommy Gallagher Kansan sportswriter While Kansas guard Tamecke Dixon keeps producing All-America-type numbers this season, her teammates on the No. 12 Kansas women's basketball team often have been cast aside without much recognition. her teammates play in anonymity, Dixon said. The players emphasize the team's wins and losses while downplaying the importance of individual statistics and honors. "We have a lot more depth this year, and I think that's been the difference," guard Angie Halbleib said. "We have had a lot of people step up and play great ball this season. It's not just Angie and Tamecka anymore." Dixon and Halbleib are the only Jayhawks to average more than 10 points a game. Dixon scores a team-high 21.4 points a game, while Halbleib ranks second with 10.7 points a game. Kansas has four other players that average more than seven points a game — center Nakia Sanford and forwards Suzi Raymant, Lynn Pride and Jennifer Trapp. Trapp said it made no difference trapped for Kansas as long as it added up to a victory. "We'd like to get a lot more people in double figures, but there's going to be games where only one or two people will get double figures," Trapp said. "If *Tamecka* gets 31, that's great if we win. If five people get double figures, that's great if we win. Whatever it takes." Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said the team had to be careful not to change a system that worked. "When things are working right, sometimes you change and try to find another way to work." Washington said. "The fact is that plenty of players are getting the opportunity to score on the offensive end. Right now, things are working well 1 Jennifer Trapp Lynn Pride so it would probably be best for us not to change too much. Halbleib shot 43 percent from the floor last season, including 40 percent from behind the three-point line. This year, her shooting has slipped to 33 percent from the floor While some players have increased their production, Halbleib's numbers have decreased from last year, when she averaged 14.3 points a game. Nakia Sanford Suzi Raymant + and 29 percent from behind the three-point line. Despite the drop in offensive production, Halbleib said Kansas would neither succeed nor fail because of one person's point total or shooting percentage. 9 "My points aren't what they were in the past, and my shooting percentage is not what it was in the past," Halebib said. "We were never 19-4 in the past, either." ]