If walls could talk, they’d be embarrassed to repeat what they heard Kansas University coach Bill Self telling freshman small forward Brandon Rush at halftime.

“Coach got on me real bad,” Rush said. “I don’t even want to tell you what he said. It was bad. Real bad.”

And it worked.

Rush scored 13 of 15 points in the second half of a 72-70 loss Thursday night to Nevada in Allen Fieldhouse.

In the second half, Rush made five of five field goals, his only three-point attempt and both free throws.

Why did he play so much better than in the first half, when he made one of five shots?

“Coach getting on me like that at halftime,” Rush said. “That’s how he gets me hyped up. I wanted to prove him wrong.”

Said Self: “He wasn’t much of a factor in the first half. At least he asserted himself in the second half. If he’s going to be a scorer, he’s got to be a lot more assertive. He’s so timid out there at times, but in the second half he played much better.”

Most players as talented as Rush have to be reminded not to hog the ball. That hasn’t been a problem with Rush.

“He wants me to be more of a scorer, and I love that,” Rush said.

Rush is averaging 15 points per game, second to Sasha Kaun (15.4).

Rush by far has been the team’s most efficient shooter, making 59 percent of his shots form the field and 50 percent from three-point range.

Self’s sharp tongue during the intermission was not the only motivation that spurred the Jayhawks to better play in game they trailed 35-27 at the half.

Early in the second half, Mario Chalmers was shoved into the basket support by Nevada center Chad Bell, injured his toe on the play and did not return to the game.

“That was bad,” Rush said. “But it hyped us up.”

So did the crowd.

“Every time you step on the floor, the crowd gives you more energy,” Rush said. “Everybody wearing blue and moving all the time … that gives you a lot of extra energy.”

Just not quite enough for the Jayhawks to defeat a quality opponent, something they have not done yet.

• 6Sports video: Wolf Pack brings down Jayhawks (12-02-05)
• Hear Bill: Nevada postgame comments
• Get the stats: KU vs. Nevada box score
• No harm, no foul, no win (12-02-05)
• Keegan: Kansas needs Downs (12-02-05)
• Fazekas plays big for Nevada (12-02-05)
• Halftime speech fires up Rush (12-02-05)
• Self, Dooley respond to exchange with Fazekas (12-02-05)
• Kansas basketball notebook (12-02-05)
• Kansas roster and bios
• KU basketball schedule
• Sign up for cell phone updates
• Sign up for e-mail updates