Kansas guard Tyler Self (11) catches a pass on a breakaway for a bucket with seconds remaining in regulation on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014 at Allen Fieldhouse.

The fans who stuck around until the final horn — and most of the 16,300 were in no hurry to leave toasty Allen Fieldhouse for the frigid outdoors — were treated to some entertaining basketball by walk-ons and reserve players from both Kansas University and Kent State on Tuesday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

First, 7-foot-4 Kent State senior Blake Vedder swished a three-pointer with 1:26 left in the Golden Flashes’ 78-62 loss to the Jayhawks and followed that with a 15-footer that also drew nothing but net.

“How bout that dude? He was great,” KU coach Bill Self said of the transfer from Indiana (of Pennsylvania).

Answering for the Jayhawks … freshman Josh Pollard plucked a steal with four seconds left and pitched ahead to sophomore Tyler Self, who cashed a game-ending layup at :01.

The 6-foot-2 Free State High graduate converted with his right hand, despite the fact a left-handed layup appeared to be in order as Self attacked the rim from the left side.

“I hadn’t scored in a while. I couldn’t risk shooting it left-handed and missing it,” Self said with a smile after KU’s 10th win in 12 games.

“I was like in my head, ‘I better shoot this one right-handed, make sure it goes in.’ I’m confident shooting it both ways but at the time my feet were right there to shoot it right-handed. That’s just what happened,” he added.

Self, who sat out last season as a red-shirt because of a foot injury, has one bucket this season after scoring four points his freshman campaign. He accepted a pass from Niko Roberts in the corner, drove the lane and converted a floater as he was fouled versus Texas on Feb. 16, 2013. He accepted a pitch-ahead pass from Roberts on the wing, drove and hit a bank shot versus Colorado on Dec. 8, 2012.

“It’s always exciting to get out there and be able to play. When one of us (scout team members) scores, no matter who it is, it’s always a good feeling for everybody on the court,” Self said.

The bench erupted in joy as Self’s layup dropped.

“It’s awesome. Whenever any of those guys who work hard every day in practice get a chance to score in the game, it’s fun for all of us to see that,” said sophomore forward Landen Lucas, who had a career-high seven rebounds versus the Golden Flashes. “It was nice to see Tyler get his points tonight.

“He’s a great guy,” Lucas added. “All our walk-ons … they keep a great attitude the whole time. They push us and they are great to have on the team.”

Pollard, 6-4 from Cedar Hills, Utah, missed one shot to go with his assist and steal.

“Josh is a good player,” Tyler Self said. “He’s having to play the 4 (power forward on scout team). It’s hard for him because he’s undersized and hasn’t done it before, but Josh is a good player.”

Of the scout team, which also includes Evan Manning and Christian Garrett and managers who sometimes fill in, Self said: “We lack some size at times just because there’s not a big guy red-shirting. We’ve been doing pretty well in my opinion. We’ve been holding our own and getting the guys (rotation players) ready for the most part.”

The Jayhawks bounced back nicely Tuesday in their first game since a 25-point loss at Temple on Dec. 22.

“I think we got better this past week,” Tyler Self said. “Christmas break is always kind of a turning point in the season, getting unlimited practice time for the most part. It’s been a long week but I think we’ve gotten better.”

The Jayhawks had two-a-days last Saturday, a day after returning from a three-day Christmas break.

“Not more tired than we should be,” Self said, asked about the players’ status. “We need to have long hours and get better this week, all of break actually (until classes resume on Jan. 20). We’re keeping our bodies rested as much as we can.”

Rebels next: KU will next meet UNLV (9-4 after Wednesday’s 76-71 loss at Wyoming) at 3:30 p.m., Sunday in Allen. Christian Wood, a 6-11 sophomore from Long Beach, California, was named U.S. Basketball Writers and NBCsports.com’s national player of the week on Tuesday. The Mountain West and CBSsports.com named him player of the week on Monday. He averaged 23 points, 12 rebounds and 3.5 blocks as UNLV beat Arizona and Southern Utah.

More on secondary break: KU’s Lucas explained after Tuesday’s win that the Jayhawks have adjusted their secondary break. KU’s players, Lucas said, can take off in any direction now, rather than being in certain spots.

“It helps you because you don’t have to think as much, ‘I need to go here and there.’ It’s kind of like, just run, post up, try to work it inside, if not reverse it, set some ball screens. It’s less thinking which makes us able to run a lot faster,” Lucas said.

Asked if there were any requirements at all, Lucas said: “Make sure you are always moving, doing something, setting screens. If you are in the post, then post hard. Other than that it’s freelance. It makes everything a lot more simple.”

KU’s Lucas on his plans for New Year’s Eve: “I’m not sure. My mom’s in town. I might do something with her, make sure I’m safe that night. It’s a dangerous night to be out. I might do something like that,” he said, smiling.