Broken-hearted

Jayhawks bemoan late call

Lubbock, Texas ? Aaron Miles’ right eye appeared positive proof he was fouled on the most controversial call of the Big 12 Conference basketball season late Monday night at United Spirit Arena.

The Kansas University senior guard’s shiner and swollen lid came courtesy of a blow delivered after Miles grabbed what appeared to be the game-winning rebound with 7.9 seconds left in double overtime, Kansas leading Texas Tech by two.

Kansas University's Aaron Miles (11) gets off a hurried three-pointer against Texas Tech just before the final buzzer in the Jayhawks' 80-79 double-overtime loss to Texas Tech. The trey missed, and KU lost to the Red Raiders on Monday in Lubbock, Texas.

Game officials, however, determined Miles traveled with the key board, giving 6-foot-9 Darryl Dora the opportunity to knock in a back-breaking three with 3.6 seconds left, the winning shot in the Red Raiders’ thrilling 80-79 victory over the Jayhawks.

“Oh, yeah, it’s right here, from that play,” Miles said of his puffed eye. “I thought it was (a foul). He (ref) kind of hesitated, then made the travel call.”

The call shocked the Jayhawks, who ultimately had to run for their lives off the court as the Red Raiders fans stormed the playing surface after the 6-foot-9 Dora’s miracle shot, his 10th three of the season in 28 tries and first Monday in five attempts.

“After I got the rebound, obviously they were trying to foul,” Miles said, “but the ref didn’t see it, I guess, so they called a travel. I had the ball. Down eight (seconds to go), they are going to try to foul. Like I said, the ref didn’t see it. It shouldn’t have come down to that anyway. That could have been avoided if we take care of the ball and got better shots at the end.”

The Jayhawks’ players and coaches didn’t cry foul after dropping their first league game in 11 contests and their first double-overtime game since another thriller in 1997 versus Missouri. They merely explained their version of what happened at the end.

“It’s really unfortunate,” senior forward Wayne Simien said of the way the game ended. “I was right there. … You can see his eye.

“I heart their coaches telling ’em to foul. It was tough not having the game decided by the guys out playing on the court.”

7: Players on both teams combined who played at least 42 minutes, led by Tech’s Martin Zeno (50 minutes)15: Kansas’ rebounding edge, 48-333.6: Seconds left when Tech’s Darryl Dora hit his clinching 3-pointer8: Tech’s scoring advantage from the free-throw line; it was 19-for-26 from the stripe, while KU was 11-for-18

KU coach Bill Self — his Jayhawks forced overtime courtesy of a coast-to-coast layup by Keith Langford and forced a second overtime on a tip-in of a Simien miss by Christian Moody — refused to blast the travel call.

He did, however, admit it was crucial to the outcome.

“Well, you know, you don’t want to come in and sound like a whiner, so we’re not going to,” Self said. “It was a game that was hard to officiate. There were a lot of calls we got, and a lot of calls they got, to be honest with you. The guys (refs) did a good job, but you can see Aaron’s face. It’s unfortunate it came down to that one call, and I’m not trying to take anything away from them.

“All losses are hard to take. What makes it hard to absorb is, it was right there. We made some plays at the end of regulation and overtime. There’s so much at stake when you are talking about the league and the NCAAs and so much at stake, to lose a game like this obviously is going to be very, very disheartening.”

Kansas' Aaron Miles dishes the ball back out after driving the lane in the second half of the Jayhawks' 80-79 double-overtime loss to Texas Tech. KU suffered its first Big 12 Conference setback Monday in Lubbock, Texas.

As far as Tech’s Dora hitting the straight-on game winner — KU’s final possession ended in a desperation 30-footer by Miles that missed — Self said: “We did a pretty good job defending them, to be honest.

“I really thought Ross (Ronald, 21 points) would try to make a play. He threw it back out to Dora. How many has he made this year? Nine? He was 0-for-4 tonight. I guess he was due one. Sasha (Kaun) didn’t get to him. That probably was my fault as much as any. I didn’t tell the guys, ‘Whatever you do, don’t let ’em shoot a three.’ I just told ’em to guard ’em.”

Martin Zeno had 24 points to lead the Red Raiders, who improved to 16-8 overall and 8-3 in the league. Jarrius Jackson contributed 19.

KU was led by Langford, who hit 10 of 22 shots for 24 points. Simien was 8-of-20 from the field and had 20 points, while Miles had 11 to go with nine assists and six turnovers — plus one black eye.

“Personally I think it was a heck of a college basketball game,” Self said. “The crowd was great. Both teams competed their tails off. Plays at the end of regulation and overtime … it was just unfortunate for us they made the last play.”

KU will meet Iowa State at noon Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.