Final, KU wins 93-56

Conner Teahan and Chase Buford each hit jumpers in the final minutes as KU emptied the walk-ons off the bench to finish things up.

Darrell Arthur played the role of human highlight reel in the Jayhawks’ 93-56 blowout of Fort Hays State in its exhibition finale.

Arthur led all scorers with 20 points, finishing the night with a flurry of lob finishes after a slow offensive start. He also pulled down eight rebounds.

Mario Chalmers scored 14 points for KU, including a 3-of-4 showing from three-point range. In the two exhibition contests, Chalmers was a combined 7-of-9 from long range.

The two other Jayhawks scoring in double figures were Sherron Collins, who scored 12, and Darnell Jackson, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds of his own.

The Jayhawks’ first regular season game will be Friday against Louisiana-Monroe in Allen Fieldhouse. That one will tip at 7 p.m.

3:56, second half, KU leads 82-50

FHSU scored three quick points out of the media timeout, and Shawn Emerick followed up his deuce by saving a ball going out of bounds. The Tigers turned it right back over, though, giving KU the ball with under seven minutes to go and leading by 29.

Emerick was hurt on the play and helped off. KU came back down to throw a lob to Darrell Arthur, and following another FHSU hoop, Cole Aldrich slammed home his second field goal of the game.

Arthur showed quick hands yet again on the other end, recording his third steal of the game. On the offensive end, Aldrich went to the iron again for his second dunk in a matter of seconds.

Sherron Collins became the fourth jayhawk to move into double figures, canning a three from the left wing. After a blocked shot by Mario Chalmers on the perimeter, Aldrich collected the ball and fed it back to Chalmers in transition. A pass to Russell Robinson led to a lob for Darrell Arthur, giving him 20 points on the night.

A pair of transition buckets by Sasha Kaun and Tyrel Reed put KU up by 36 going into the game’s final full timeout.

7:36, second half, KU leads 71-39

Darnell Jackson scored two and drew a foul along with it right out of the timeout. He missed the free throw, but on the trip back up the floor for KU, Jackson was fouled again and this time put in the bonus at the 10:53 mark. Jackson went to the line and hit a pair of free throws, giving him eight points on the night.

Tyrone Evans scored again for FHSU after Cole Aldrich missed a spinning hook on the other end. In response, Tyrel Reed sliced down the baseline, putting two in off the glass for his first points of the night.

Jackson put himself in double figures after faking out an FHSU defender by showing a pass over his head, slicing to the lane and dropping it in. Jackson then took down another board on the defensive end. Jackson attempted another shot on the offensive end, but off the miss, Cole Aldrich collected it and slipped one in off the board.

Evans became the first Tiger to work himself into double figures with a deep three on the right wing, giving him 12 points.

11:33, second half, KU leads 61-34

Out of the timeout, Darrell Arthur continued to go to work, putting in his third hoop of the half on a spin-move jumper off the glass to give him 16 points on the night.

Sasha Kaun then scored in similar fashion following a Tyrone Evans deuce in the lane.

Russell Robinson furthered the damage on FHSU by slipping in two off the rim while drawing a foul for his second field goal of the night. The free throw gave him five points and pushed KU’s lead to 33.

Corbin Kuntzsch put in another three for FHSU, as KU put a lineup on the floor which had trouble working the ball inside into good position. Evans then came back down to hit a long three after a turnover in the paint by KU.

Robinson took matters into his own hands next time KU had the ball, slashing to the rack and putting one in up high off the glass. Kuntzsch came back down for two more for the Tigers, as KU has only outscored its exhibition opponent 18-17 since the break.

15:44, second half, KU leads 52-24

FHSU struck first after a sloppy few opening series to start the second half. Shawn Emerick did so with a pair of free throws after drawing a foul on Darnell Jackson going hard to the rim.

KU’s first points of the second half came in emphatic fashion. After scurrying for a rebound only to see it go out of bounds off an FHSU player, Mario Chalmers came down and threw a high lob to Darrell Arthur for two. After a Tim Peintner three, Chalmers put in a trey of his own. Tyrone Evans came down to score his first points of the game high off the glass for Fort Hays State.

Sherron Collins scored his first points of the second half on a coast-to-coast layup following his second steal of the game. A defensive rebound by Sasha Kaun then led to a lob to Darrell Arthur, which he missed as it was too high, but he tipped in while the ball was dancing on the iron, giving him 14 points.

Halftime, KU leads 43-17

Conner Teahan, Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins all checked in to finish out the half for KU, and following an FHSU miss, Darrell Arthur ripped down another board.

Cole Aldrich tried to drop a pass down low for Arthur but turned it over instead. He made up for it with a nice defensive board on the other end. That was followed by a missed Teahan three from atop the key.

Olberding hit his second three for FHSU, giving him a team-high eight points and cutting the Tigers’ deficit to 23.

Arthur was fouled on the other end, going to the line for two shots thanks to the double-bonus. He swished home both, making him the first Jayhawk in double figures with 10 points.

Aldrich then blocked a leaning Charles Robinson layup on the other end, only to see Sherron Collins give it back with a charge on the offensive end.

Corbin Kuntzsch went to the line and hit a pair of free throws as part of a one-and-one after getting fouled by Conner Teahan, but Mario Chalmers one-upped him with an and-one layup on the other end. His ensuing free throw gave him 11 first half points with 40 seconds to go before the break.

KU’s defense forced FHSU into a shot-clock violation with :06.3 to go in the half and giving KU the last shot. Collins dribbled the ball off his foot, though, leaving the halftime score at 43-17 in favor of KU.

Mario Chalmers leads all scorers after one half with 11, including a pair of three-pointers from atop the key. Darrell Arthur has shown some aggressiveness in netting 10 points. Sherron Collins added seven for the Jayhawks, playing the role of catalyst following a slow offensive start.

2:24, first half, KU leads 38-12

Arthur missed his free throw on the and-one attempt, keeping him tied for the team-high with eight points on the night. He made up for it by wiping a Shawn Emerick shot away under the glass on the other end.

FHSU finally hit its first three of the game on a Jake Sims look from the corner following a foul on Arthur underneath. KU tried to answer with a long two by Russell Robinson and a three by Tyrel Reed, but neither fell. The first miss was accompanied by a Darnell Jackson offensive board, but on his second offensive board attempt, he was called for a pushoff.

Another failed FHSU offensive possession led to Tyrel Reed feeding Sasha Kaun on the baseline for two off the glass. Jackson then tore down a defensive board and threw a huge downcourt pass to Russell Robinson, who while falling down hit a cutting Jeremy Case for an easy layin and applause from the crowd. Case then scored again coming back down to put KU up 34-9 and give himself four points.

Kaun tried to score again out of a 30-second timeout, but his miss rolled off the rim to the right. Yet KU’s defense was stout again, creating a transition finger roll for Darnell Jackson.

After another FHSU miss, Jackson took a feed atop the key from Jeremy Case and threw a nice lob for Sasha Kaun at the rack, putting KU up by 29 points.

Colin Olberding hit a three for FHSU to stop the bleeding somewhat, but KU is already well in control with 2:24 to go in the half.

7:36, first half, KU leads 28-6

Rob Igbawua scored right away for Fort Hays State out of the break, going for a reverse layup past Cole Aldrich, who was inserted during the timeout. Colin Olberding then scored again for FHSU on the trip back following a KU miss by Darrell Arthur.

Arthur put in his second bucket of the game, though, on the ensuing KU possession, putting a Rodrick Stewart three miss back in off the glass.

Collins then picked Olberding’s pocket and took the loose ball the other way for an elevated layup, putting KU up 18-6. It came on the heels of a Cole Aldrich swat in the paint.

On KU’s next possession, Collins went to work again with a three from the wing, giving him a game-high seven points so far. It led FHSU to call a 30-second timeout trailing 21-6 with just over nine minutes to play until the half.

Following another Fort Hays State miss, Mario Chalmers canned his second three of the game in calm fashion, putting KU up by 18. FHSU couldn’t capitalize on the ensuing possession or after a Charles Robinson steal at midcourt.

KU came back down and fed Cole Aldrich in the paint, and he was slapped on the forearm while turning for a hook. His first free throw attempt was no good, but Arthur collected the board and dumped it in off the glass. Arthur then registered a steal on the other end, fed Jeremy Case and was given the ball back underneath. He went up strong off the glass and was hacked while pouring in his fourth field goal of the game.

11:22, first half, KU leads 14-2

With a feed from Mario Chalmers, Russell Robinson stroked a long two atop the key to push KU’s advantage to 9-0 right out of the game’s first break.

Ryan Herrman finally broke FHSU’s goose-egg on the scoreboard with two inside, but the Jayhawks pushed the ball down before the Tigers could get set, and a reverse layup by Chalmers underneath put KU up 11-2, giving him five points in the early minutes.

Chalmers whistled for a 30-second timeout during a loose-ball scramble, and right out of it, Darnell Jackson spun on the baseline and threw down a dunk over Herrman. Jackson then ripped away a rebound in a tussle on the other end.

KU drew a pair of fouls on its ensuing possession, with the second putting Sasha Kaun at the free throw line. Kaun made the first, and Jackson tore down the long board after the second drew back iron. KU turned it over, heading back to the other end with a 14-2 lead.

Robinson missed a three attempt once KU got the ball back, but FHSU was again unable to connect on a longball of its own. The Tigers were called for a push underneath on the defensive end, and after the whistle, Tyrel Reed and Sherron Collins came in to relieve Robinson and Chalmers.

Kaun went to the line for a one-and-one, missing the first, making KU 3-of-5 so far from the stripe. FHSU quickly gave the ball back on a Charles Robinson travel call. Kaun tried to answer with a spinning two inside, but again saw his shot fall off the rim.

FHSU missed yet again from long-range, but KU couldn’t respond, as Sherron Collins’ three-ball went long and out of bounds at the 11:22 mark.

15:53, first half, KU leads 7-0

On the first possession, KU dumped the ball into Sasha Kaun who tried to elevate over Shawn Emerick, but threw a dunk attempt off the back of the iron. After coralling the offensive board, the Jayhawks turned it back over. Fort Hays State’s Charles Robinson returned the favor with a turnover of his own.

KU’s bigs stayed aggressive, with Darrell Arthur and Kaun each missing shots in the paint while scrapping for a tough two, only to see the ball go back to FHSU after slipping out of bounds.

Arthur then blocked a three attempt by Tim Peintner atop the key, and Emerick followed it by fouling Mario Chalmers, sending the ball back with the Jayhawks.

Arthur put in the game’s first two points after that on a lob feed from Mario Chalmers. Arthur then created a turnover with quick hands on the perimeter on the other end. He had a chance for his second bucket on a baseline jumper following another Chalmers feed, but the attempt was no good. Chalmers then got a look at a three atop the key after a Sasha Kaun offensive board, but it wasn’t true either.

Arthur and Kaun then wiped Emerick underneath while trying for a reverse, but Arthur again let the ball get away under the FHSU basket.

Arthur took in a rebound off an Emerick miss underneath, and Sherron Collins then slashed to the other end and went hard to the rack. He was fouled, thanks to a blocking call on Charles Robinson.

Collins hit both free throws, giving KU an early 4-0 advantage three minutes in.

Emerick Continued to try to get in the paint and score, but Kaun remained a nuisance for the 6-foot-8 junior. On the other end, Chalmers got another look at a three and this time was able to knock it down from atop the key, putting KU up 7-0.

FHSU’s Jake Sims missed his second three attempt of the game and then the Tigers were called for a foul, leading to the game’s first timeout on the floor.

Pregame

A few days after K-State frosh sensation Michael Beasley opened his Wildcat career with 35 points and 15 rebounds on them, the Fort Hays State Tigers travel to Allen Fieldhouse to serve as the final exhibition tune-up for the No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks, who are donning red uniforms tonight.

KU dispensed of Pittsburg State last Thursday 94-59 in the first of its two preseason bouts, running the score up near the century mark on a night when the Jayhawks looked far from pristine.

Sherron Collins, looking as lean as he did in his peak a year ago, paced KU in the opener with 18 points, while Mario Chalmers connected on four-of-five three-pointers, scoring 14. Both Collins and Chalmers had five assists as the Jayhawks debuted a three-guard starting lineup with those two and Russell Robinson with the absence of Brandon Rush, who is still recovering from ACL surgery he underwent during the summer months.

Fort Hays State dropped the aforementioned K-State game by a tally of 95-59. Tyrone Evans and Jake Sims each scored 11 for the Tigers, who begin their regular season Nov. 17 against Southwestern Oklahoma State. KU’s first regular season game is Friday against Louisiana-Monroe at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse.