Jayhawks hold off pesky Bears, improve to 10-2 in Big 12

Kansas forward Jamari Traylor (31) is fouled as he comes down with an offensive rebound over Baylor guard Lester Medford (11) during the first half, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

It took the Jayhawks longer than normal in their home building to deliver the knock-out blow, but it came nonetheless.

?Behind a strong second half that saw Kansas outscore Baylor 47-31, the eighth-ranked Jayhawks improved to 10-2 in Big 12 play and 21-4 overall with a 74-64 victory over the Bears.

Baylor built a first-half lead of as many as 13 — 25-12 — and led by six at the break. After that, both teams battled inside and out before KU’s red-hot finish provided the decisive blow.

• Box score

KU closed the game on a 29-15 run after falling behind by four points with 9:36 to play in the second half.

Kelly Oubre Jr. paced KU with 18 points, including a big three in the final two minutes. The freshman who had been in a mini-slump offensively, knocked in four of six from three-point range, where the Jayhawks shot 6-for-18.

Perry Ellis’ 18 points moved him past the 1,000-point mark for his career.

Here’s a quick look back at some of the action:

• The game turned when: The Jayhawks jumped out of the second half gate and started the final 20 minutes with a 9-2 run. That gave Kansas its first lead of the day (36-35 at 17:15 2H) and set the stage for the two teams to play the rest of the game within a possession or two, much like they did when they met in Waco, Texas, in early January.

• Offensive highlight: On the first possession of the second half, on a play that KU coach Bill Self no doubt drew up in the locker room, Wayne Selden Jr. ran a perfect back cut on the left side of the floor and found himself wide open at the rim, where Frank Mason III delivered a perfect lob pass and Selden hammered it. The explosive play led to a stretch of seven straight points by Selden to open the second half.

• Defensive highlight: With 4:38 to play in the first half and KU trailing Baylor by six, Ellis sprinted back full speed on defense to get a fingertip on a full-court pass over the top that would’ve resulted in an easy dunk for Rico Gathers and some more momentum for Baylor. The heads-up defensive play by Ellis followed a couple of point-blank misses by the Jayhawks.

• Key stat: KU knocked in 24 of 29 free throws, including 20 of 22 in the second half, to help keep the Bears from pulling off the upset.

• Up next: The Jayhawks head to West Virginia for a Big Monday showdown with one of the best pressure defense teams in the country. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN.

— See what people were saying about the game during the KUsports.com live blog.