Jackson, Arthur combine for 47 points as KU smashes BC, 85-60

Final, KU wins 85-60

Boston – So much for second half woes striking on the road for a third time.

The Jayhawks put on a show, start to finish with the exception of a few minutes midway through the second half, and slammed Boston College Saturday on Chestnut Hill, 85-60. It was nearly the same score as last year (84-66), and KU goes down with a sweep of the two-game home-and-home series with the Eagles.

Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur carried the load in the traditional way to start the game and never let up. The two were able to get more involved in transition late in the game, and finished with a combined 47 points on 19-of-25 shooting. They were also a combined 9-of-10 from the free throw line. The team was 15-of-19 from the stripe.

Brandon Rush was the only other Jayhawk in double figures, scoring 10 of his 12 points in before halftime.

The game was tied 22-22 midway through the game’s first stanza, but KU cruised to a 47-29 lead at the break. BC closed it into as close as a 14-point game in the second half, but the Jayhawks got charged up after a near-altercation at midcourt, which started with BC’s Rakim Sanders and KU’s Mario Chalmers getting tangled up. Right after, the Jayhawks scored six unanswered points, including four from Darrell Arthur, and with BC’s leading scorer, Tyrese Rice, on the bench with four fouls, KU continued to pull away. By the time Rice – who finished with 20 points – returned, it was too late.

The Jayhawks, 14-0, have just one non-conference tilt left. That will be Tuesday night, when Loyala (Md.) comes to town for a 7 p.m. tip. KU opens Big 12 play with an 8 p.m. contest next Saturday in Lincoln, Neb.

3:17, second half, KU leads 78-57

Boston – Russell Robinson scored his first field goal of the game out of the media timeout, and that three-pointer from up top put KU up 74-51. The capper to the late game run came moments later as Robinson blocked a Tyrese Rice shot, then fed Darnell Jackson after gathering the ball for an easy two-handed slam in transition. The dunk gave the senior forward a game-high 25 points and extended KU’s lead to 25 points. A BC hoop right after was answered with Darrell Arthur hitting the 20-point mark off an inside feed from Sherron Collins.

Rakim Sanders and Tyrese Rice hit a couple of buckets for BC, but the Jayhawks’ late run has been too much for the Eagles to overcome, with KU cruising to the finish line, up 78-57 with 3:17 to play.

7:44, second half, KU leads 71-50

Boston – Darnell Jackson hit a pair of free throws out of the media timeout, but BC started to push its run into overdrive. First Rakim Sanders hit a three-pointer from the right wing, then after a KU turnover, Biko Paris slashed down the paint on a fast break and laid in a pair, forcing Bill Self to call a timeout with his team’s lead slashed to 14 points.

Darrell Arthur took a pass from Darnell Jackson out of the break, and after the ball was batted up, he recovered it and slipped in two off the glass. John Oates responded for the Eagles with a long jumper. A mini near-altercation then took place near midcourt and needed the refs to come in before it came to blows. Sherron Collins left the near-fracas pumping his chest and visibly angered. Afterwards, Darnell Jackson drove the wing and laid in a pair, and then Russell Robinson’s aggressive backcourt defens forced a BC turnover. KU tried to go up top for Darrell Arthur with the emotion, but he was hacked by Shamari Spears.

Arthur hit both free throws, then tipped in the miss, and a Sherron Collins steal-and-score put KU up by 22 points with 8:26 to go, giving KU potentially the momentum for good.

11:50, second half, KU leads 59-42

Boston – Rakim Sanders hit his second three-pointer of the game out of the timeout, but KU continued to steal the highlight reel, with Mario Chalmers this time throwing an alley oop to Sasha Kaun, who dunked it home for his first field goal of the game.

BC then began to put together a little run of its own with the help of a couple of KU miscues. First came a step out of bounds by Sherron Collins, then an offensive foul. A Russell Robinson travel call kept the BC momentum going, as John Oates and Shamari Spears put in buckets during that mini slide to cut the KU lead to 19 points.

After a timeout taken on each side, John Oates continued the offensive push for BC by dunking home a pair. Brandon Rush answered with two points off an offensive board. Shamari Spears tried to answer with a two, but his off-target shot was thrown home by Rakim Sanders with one hand.

15:35, second half, KU leads 55-31

Boston – After a BC free throw off a Mario Chalmers foul to start the second half, Darnell Jakcson went right back to work. First, after being fouled from behind, he hit a pair of charities. Then, on a fast break feed, slammed home two points emphatically to give himself a game-high total so far of 19 points.

Russell Robinson, who had three assists in the first half, extended KU’s lead further by hitting one of two free throws on KU’s next trip up the floor to push the lead to 52-30. Sasha Kaun then did the same thing, giving KU a 6-1 push to open the first half.

Tyrese Rice was called for his fourth foul of the game on BC’s ensuing possession, getting whistled for his second charge of the game while driving the left side of the paint. His seat on the bench gave KU’s defense even more of a breather. Darrell Arthur made the Eagles pay further, finishing a Russell Robinson lob pass with a two-handed throwdown, giving him 12 points on the afternoon.

Halftime, KU leads 47-29

Boston – Rodrick Stewart slipped in two off the glass out of the timeout, and those would turn out to be the final points scored of the first half, giving KU a 47-49 advantage following possibly the team’s best half of basketball so far this season.

Darnell Jackson has led KU to this point with 15 points, while fellow starting forward Darrell Arthur has 10. Brandon Rush has 10 after a late three-pointer, and Mario Chalmers hit a pair of treys to give him eight points. BC’s Tyrese Rice leads all scorers with 16 points, but hasn’t hit a three-pointer since midway through the first half. KU ended the half on a 25-7 run after being tied 22-22.

:52.7, first half, KU leads 45-29

Boston – Tyrese Rice added two more to his point total for the night at the free throw line, but KU came back yet again. First, Darnell Jackson took a lob feed and came down with it instead of finishing mid-air. He dropped it in off the glass instead to give himself 13 points. Then, after recording a steal, he took the feed in transition and was fouled on his way to the rim. He dropped in both charities to bump his point total to a team-high 15 on the afternoon.

Cole Aldrich, who entered at the last break for Sasha Kaun, then made his presence felt with a swat on the defensive end. He couldn’t finish in two tries on offense, but a ball flying out of bounds stayed with the Jayhawks. Brandon Rush finished with an up-and-under layup from the wing to put KU up 42-26.

Brandon Rush kept the run going, extending it to a 23-4 KU streak with his first three-pointer of the game. Rakim Sanders answered with a three off the window, but KU’s lead is still huge at 45-29 late in the first half.

3:58, first half, KU leads 36-24

Boston – Darnell Jackson went to work yet again, dropping in two while storming down the lane to give himself nine points. His bucket gave Arthur and him a combined 19 of KU’s first 26 points. The combined total became 11 as Jackson then tipped in a Sherron Collins miss to push KU’s lead to six points at 28-22.

Sasha Kaun drew a pair of BC fouls after a Rakim Sanders three-point miss. The second of those got him to the free throw line, where the senior buried both attempts and gave KU its biggest lead yet at 30-22.

Tyrese Rice continued to be BC’s best offensive option, sinking two on the elbow after working between a pair of Jayhawk defenders, but KU came back by hitting its first three-pointer of the game – a Mario Chalmers offering from the left wing. BC compounded its fall late in the first half with a travel call, down 33-24.

Chalmers hit another three on the next KU possession, coming off a feed from Darnell Jackson after the senior rebounded a Sherron Collins three miss.

7:50, first half, KU leads 24-22

Boston – Darnell Jackson extended KU’s lead again to three points, hitting a two from near the free throw line to give himself a game-high seven points. Tyrese Rice came back again, though, to bury another three. His third longball gave him nine points and tied the game, 15-15. He then hit two free throws to put BC up by two.

Darrell Arthur kept KU’s big men active on the offensive end with his second turnaround jumper of the first half to give him eight points. The Jayhawks then got the fast break going with the game tied, and Russell Robinson dished to Brandon Rush, who dropped in two while being fouled. The subsequent free throw gave KU a 20-17 lead.

Tyrese Rice’s outside shooting continued to bother the Jayhawks, as the junior guard buried his fourth three-pointer of the game this time, giving him 14 points and four threes to tie the game yet again, 20-20.

The Jayhawks shot out in transition again, and again Brandon Rush was the stat sheet beneficiary, slamming home two. Shamari Spears scored after that for BC, but Darrell Arthur moved into double figures with 10 points to put KU up 24-22.

11:46, first half, KU leads 13-12

Boston – Shamari Spears hit a jumper from deep after faking out Darrell Arthur against an expiring shot clock out of the timeout to put BC up 9-8. Spears was then fouled by Darrell Arthur on the other end, notching KU’s first infraction of the game. BC couldn’t capitalize off the foul, though a Sherron Collins blown layup after a nifty crossover gave the ball back to the Eagles.

Mario Chalmers then recorded his first steal of the game after a Shamari Spears entry pass was knocked away. The ball was then fed by Collins up to Darnell Jackson for an easy two-handed jam. Jackson then recorded a steal of his own, flipping it up to Chalmers. Instead of dishing over his shoulder to Brandon Rush, Chalmers took it himself and dropped in a two-pointer in transition, pushing KU’s lead to 12-9.

Sasha Kaun moments later grabbed a defensive board on a Tyler Roche three-point miss, and a Darnell Jackson free throw on the other end put KU up 13-9. Tyrese Rice slashed deep into that lead on the next trip down, though, hitting his second three of the game.

15:34, first half, KU leads 8-7

Boston – Mario Chalmers controlled the opening tip for the Jayhawks, and Darrell Arthur set up in the paint, hitting a quick turnaround jumper to put KU up within 20 seconds, 2-0.

Darnell Jackson then tore down a defensive rebound off a miss from Rakim Sanders on the elbow. BC turned up the defensive pressure and Tyrese Rice pulled the ball away from Brandon Rush in traffic. Rice was called for a charge, though, on the other end, keeping BC scoreless.

Mario Chalmers then tried to score on an up-and-under layup on the other end, but it fell off the front iron. Shamari Spears laid in a Rakim Sanders feed for BC to tie the game, 2-2.

Darrell Arthur put KU up 4-2 on a layup in front of the iron after Brandon Rush collected the offensive rebound on Arthur’s initial miss. Tyrese Rice came back to hit a three for BC, but Arthur took the lead back right away with a two-handed slam on an underneath feed from Russell Robinson.

Rakim Sanders scored his first points on the way back down, returning the favor for his earlier feed to Spears. Darnell Jackson scored in response with two points inside, giving KU big men the Jayhawks’ first eight points.

Darrell Arthur took down a man-sized defensive rebound on the other end, but Russell Robinson’s layup attempt on the offensive end was jammed between the iron and the glass, forcing a jump ball.

In two non-conference road tests so far this basketball season (at Southern Cal and Georgia Tech), Kansas University has come out as winners. The second halves of those contests, however, have left something to be desired – especially late in the game.

The Jayhawks have escaped both venues after allowing double-digit leads to slip late, but heroics from Mario Chalmers in Los Angeles and Sherron Collins in Atlanta kept KU’s record unblemished. Today, in the second-to-last pre-conference game of the year, the Jayhawks are hoping for a full 40 minutes at, well, full throttle.

This game will be no easier than the previous two road non-con tilts, as Boston College enters at 10-2, coming off of two wins since a 10-day pre-holiday layoff. The three most notable wins for BC this year have come against No. 22 Rhode Island (76-72), Michigan (77-64) and Maryland (81-78).

Jared Dudley and Sean Marshall are gone, but the Jayhawks will re-acquaint themselves today with junior guard Tyrese Rice, who is leading the Eagles in scoring this year with 19.7 points per game. Sophomore forward Shamari Spears is notching 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest, while freshman guard Rakim Sanders is averaging 11.4 points per game alongside Rice.

This year, KU will not have to deal with Sean Williams, who last year in an 84-66 loss to KU in Allen Fieldhouse registered 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. central, and the game will be televised on ESPN.