Final, KU wins 90-71

Two weeks separated the two KU-MU meetings this season, but time didn’t heal Missouri’s wounds from meeting No. 1.

Behind 19 points from Brandon Rush – including three deep balls – and 15 from Mario Chalmers, the Jayhawks won their second game in three days, knocking off the Tigers 90-71.

Missouri was able to score inside for much of the night, but an 0-for-10 showing from three-point range wasn’t an improvement at all from the team’s 5-of-28 showing in Columbia on Jan. 19. Matt Lawrence, who scored 19 points in Lawrence a year ago, was 0-for-5 from deep.

Darrell Arthur spent much of the night on the bench in foul trouble for KU, but Sasha Kaun and Cole Aldrich provided quality minutes, combining for 18 points and 13 rebounds. Arthur, who played just two minutes in the first half, scored 11 points quickly upon entering the game early in the second stanza.

The Jayhawks (22-1 overall, 7-1 Big 12), having now completed a three-game stretch in six days, are off until Saturday, when they’ll take on Baylor at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse before another quick turnaround, traveling to Austin to take on Texas next Monday at 8 p.m.

7:12, second half, KU leads 72-56

Keon Lawrence again responded to Darrell Arthur free throws with a bucket, and he rattled home another two on a short jumper moments later to give him a game-high 19 points.

KU’s inside presence, though, continued to be too much for the MU bigs. Darrell Arthur, coming in off the bench after sitting most of the night with three fouls, scored nine quick points. Then, Sasha Kaun scored a three-point play following his own miss before sitting with four fouls.

Brandon Rush added two in transition after that, giving him a team-high 14 points with KU pulling away late in the second half.

11:30, second half, KU leads 62-47

Leo Lyons slashed to the rim out of the timeout, continuing to go against suspect KU defense under the rim. Brandon Rush pushed his point total to 12 on the other end with a 10-foot pull-up jumper. J.T. Tiller hit a free throw to keep MU within range, and Keon Lawrence’s transition layup pulled MU within 11 points of KU.

Darrell Arthur then came off the bench for the Jayhawks and started to go to work. WIth just two points in two minutes of play to that point, Arthur hit a free throw line jumper, then tipped in his own miss to push KU back ahead by 15, forcing Mike Anderson into a timeout call.

A Missouri travel call following a KU turnover sent the game into a full break with the Jayhawks still owning a 15-point lead.

15:59, second half, KU leads 56-42

Keon Lawrence scored the first points of the second half, and DeMarre Carroll hit one of two free throws to make it a single-digit KU lead after getting hacked by Darnell Jackson.

Russell Robinson responded with a three, and Mario Chalmers hit a pair of free throws to push it to a 14-point lead. J.T. Tiller scored two in response inside, but Russell Robinson returned the favor with a slashing two through the lane. Keon Lawrence then had a two-pointer responded to with a pair of Cole Aldrich free throws – to go with his nine rebounds – and a Darnell Jackson dunk heading into the first full break of the half.

Halftime, KU leads 45-33

Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers made up for two Leo Lyons buckets out of the timeout, to keep it a 10-point game, and Sherron Collins pushed the lead back to 12 with an up-and-under layup.

Sherron Collins then answered a Leo Lyons free throw with his first three-pointer of the game, giving him seven points and KU its biggest lead yet at 14 points.

Keon Lawrence spun in two in MU’s final possession of the first half, giving him a game-high 13 points going into the break. After Collins had a layup attempt swiped out of bounds, Darnell Jackson couldn’t convert, keeping KU up 45-33 at halftime.

The difference in the first half was KU owning the boards, taking a 21-12 lead into the break on the glass against a feisty MU group. Brandon Rush, paced by a pair of three-pointers, led KU with 10. Sherron Collins and Mario Chalmers each scored seven, while Sasha Kaun was big with nine points, as Darrell Arthur sat most of the first half with three fouls.

3:49, first half, KU leads 36-26

Mario Chalmers missed the front end of a one-and-one out of the timeout, but Cole Aldrich corralled the board and got himself to the line, sinking two and pushing the Jayhawk lead to 10 points.

Brandon Rush then took down the board off another Butterfield miss, and Darnell Jackson swished a jumper on the baseline, giving KU its biggest lead yet at 12.

From there, there was a short series of blown offensive opportunities on both ends before J.T. Tiller finished a Keon Lawrence lob off the glass for MU. Brandon Rush responded with his second three-pointer of the game from his favorite spot – the left corner – to give him eight points on the night.

Leo Lyons went to the line after getting fouled, despite a nifty save attempt from Darnell Jackson earlier in the defensive stand, and hit one of two. Following a pair of Sherron Collins misses, DeMarre Carroll scored two more in transition for MU, forcing Bill Self to call a 30-second timeout with KU up 36-26.

7:29, first half, KU leads 29-21

Sherron Collins scored two on the break to push KU’s lead to eight points out of the break after Matt Lawrence three miss, but MU’s Keon Lawrence, off a Tiger steal, scored his 10th and 11th points of the night. Sasha Kaun came back to score two inside, giving him a team-high nine points since coming in at the 17:27 mark.

Sasha Kaun took a breather after scoring his fourth bucket of the game, but Cole Aldrich was quickly subbed in for Sasha’s replacement – Darrell Arthur – after the sophomore was blown for his third foul of the half. Aldrich quickly scored in response to a DeMarre Carroll bucket.

Darryl Butterfield, in for the first time since his suspension was lifted, missed a jumper on his first possession of the game, and J.T. Tiller was called for a foul on the other end, leading to another media timeout with KU ahead by eight.

11:51, first half, KU leads 23-17

J.T. Tiller knifed the lane and scored two off the glass out of the timeout, tying it again, 11-11.

The Jayhawks were struggling to get a shot off on the next possession, forcing Darnell Jackson to shoot a three with the shot clock winding down. It missed long, but Sasha Kaun tipped it in. Keon Lawrence tied it again for MU, 13-13.

Mario Chalmers came back to score his first points of the game, hitting a three from the right wing, DeMarre Carroll then punched two on the board by flipping a bucket off the glass.

Mario Chalmers tried for a highlight by soaring in for a one-handed slam attempt. He was fouled and hit two free throws to push the Jayhawks’ lead back to three points.

Keon Lawrence continued to assert himself offensively, stepping back off a crossover move and stroking his fourth bucket of the game from straight away. Brandon Rush had a pass go off his hands on the other end, giving MU the ball back down one.

Leo Lyons, in the game for the first time, couldn’t put MU ahead, and Russell Robinson came back to hit a long two for the Jayhawks – his first points of the night.

The KU lead ballooned to five after the Jayhawks tipped a Robinson three miss around the iron for a series of caroms before Sasha Kaun grabbed it and dropped it in while drawing contact, setting the senior big man into a frenzy of celebration. His free throw gave him seven points and KU its biggest lead yet at six points.

An MU turnover underneath sent the game into a full break at the 11:51 mark.

15:55, first half, KU leads 11-9

MU controlled the game’s opening tip and J.T. Tiller went right to the rack on Mario Chalmers. His shot was too high and a foul on Vaidotas Volkus sent the ball with the Jayhawks.

After a pass from Russell Robinson, Brandon Rush uncorked a three from straight away to start things off, putting KU ahead 3-0. Missouri then tunred it over, and Rush drove down the wing, feeding Darrell Arthur for a soaring slam and a 5-0 lead. Arthur was then whistled for a blocking foul on the other end. The infraction came while Keon Lawrence soared in for a layup. Lawrence hit the charity to make it a 5-3 game.

Brandon Rush answered back with a fake on a three, then stepped inside the arc slightly and hit from 18 feet. Volkus came back with a 17-footer of his won. A Darrell Arthur miss gave MU the ball, down 7-5.

DeMarre Carroll was first blocked by Arthur, then Arthur was called for his second foul at the 17:27 mark while Volkus was hoisting a two from the baseline. It sent Volkus to the line – where he hit two to tie it up – and put Arthur on the bench.

Darnell Jackson gave the lead back to KU after taking a feed from Mario Chalmers up for two off the glass. Sasha Kaun was called for KU’s third team foul on the other end, hacking Carroll on his way to the iron. He hit two free throws to tie it up again. Kaun scored his first two points on the other end on accident, tipping in a lob toss that was too high from Chalmers. Brandon Rush tried to extend the lead with a three but couldn’t hit. He grabbed a defensive board moments later off a Carroll miss.

Pregame

Still without leading scorer Stefhon Hannah and fellow seniors Jason Horton and Darryl Butterfield, Missouri comes into Allen Fieldhouse tonight with an unexpected boost, having knocked off Kansas State 77-74 Saturday in Columbia.

Going to Allen Fieldhouse shorthanded, though, in this rivalry is another story. The Kansas University men’s basketball team (21-1 overall, 6-1 Big 12) welcomes Mizzou (13-9, 2-4) to Lawrence for an 8 p.m. tip on ESPN (Sunflower channels 33, 233 HD). The two already met once this year, with KU taking home a 76-70 win on Jan. 19 in a foul-marred contest across the border.

The Tigers are still without Hannah, Horton and Butterfield due to suspensions stemming from a brawl at a Columbia night club. Hannah is also out recovering from a broken jaw suffered that night. The Tigers reinstated Leo Lyons and Marshall Brown for the game against K-State. Lyons was huge, scoring 13 much-needed points off the bench. The star of the night, though, was sophomore J.T. Tiller. In a rare starting assignment, Tiller scored 20 points in 35 minutes on 7-of-13 shooting against the Wildcats.

While MU took care of business at home, KU did so on the road Saturday, bouncing back from last Wednesday’s 84-75 loss to K-State in Bramlage by beating Colorado 72-59 in Boulder. After a 30-minute struggle, KU erupted late against the Buffs, including a highlight-filled 12-1 run after leading 55-50 late in the contest. The win, coupled with KSU’s loss, sprung the Jayhawks back into first place in the Big 12 standings, a half-game ahead of the ‘Cats.