I’m sure if Winston Churchill were alive today he would have pulled a cigar out of his bulldog mouth and proclaimed it Nick Collison’s finest hour.

OK, so the game lasted two hours. You get the point.

Collison’s 24-point and career-high 23-rebound performance in Kansas’ scintillating 90-87 victory over Texas on Monday night in Allen Fieldhouse was so impressive that ESPN announcer Dick Vitale stood and applauded when Collison fouled out with 1:18 remaining.

Those of us sitting on press row were not thrilled by Vitale’s lack of professionalism — no cheering in the press box, you know — but Vitale is an emotional guy, and, come to find out, he’s done it only once before.

Collison did not see Vitale’s ovation, but the nationally known college basketball broadcasting icon visited the KU locker room afterward to offer his personal congratulations to the Jayhawks’ 6-foot-9 senior co-captain.

“He said he’s done it only once before,” Collison related. “He said he did it when David Robinson scored 45 points against Kentucky.”

To be placed in the select company of Robinson, the former Navy All-American who went on to become an all-pro in the NBA, is something.

“It means a lot to me,” Collison said in an even voice. “He (Vitale) has seen a lot of games.”

Collison is one of those people who doesn’t show much emotion one way or another. Sometimes, in fact, it’s difficult to tell if he’s happy or sad, if he just experienced one of the most memorable games of his career, or just finished doing his laundry.

Still, it wouldn’t be right to ask Collison to describe his yeoman performance, so we’ll leave it to others, like Texas junior forward Brian Boddicker, for instance.

“He started slow,” Boddicker said of Collison, “and then he kicked our butt. He was the difference in the game. He had more than 20 rebounds. It was ridiculous.”

Collison’s outing wasn’t ridiculous to his teammates, of course. They used other adjectives and nouns to describe him.

“Unbelievable, fantastic, everything,” Jeff Graves said.

“Incredible,” Keith Langford said. “He’s been real tired with guys hanging on his arms. He’s been taking a beating.”

Aaron Miles called Collison a “warrior.”

Finally, KU coach Roy Williams: “If those NBA scouts think anyone has a bigger heart, they’re blind.”

Yet for all Collison did, no single player has ever won a basketball game all by himself. The Jayhawks, with their backs to the wall after back-to-back losses, received 25 points they desperately needed from stalwart Kirk Hinrich. They also got a surprising 15 points from point guard Aaron Miles, who didn’t allow his ongoing outside-shooting woes to prevent him from driving to the basket.

Kansas may have lost badly Saturday to the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, but the Jayhawks clearly weren’t down in the dumps about it. It was almost as if they were willing themselves to stop the bleeding by disposing of the nation’s No. 3-ranked team.

It certainly didn’t hurt that Texas missed 13 of its last 15 shots, by my count, but this wasn’t really a game the Longhorns lost. This was a game Kansas won by the sheer force of its will with a little help from the home crowd, as usual.

Anyway, those of you who thought it strange Kansas would honor Norm Stewart, the former Missouri coach KU fans once loved to hate, before the game now face the prospect of seeing Stewart in Allen Fieldhouse again.

As superstitious as Williams is, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Stewart sitting behind the bench the next time the Jayhawks tangle with a ranked team.