Jayhawks come through in crunch time to win at Baylor

Kansas guard Frank Mason III (0) gets to the bucket past Baylor guard Lester Medford (11) during the second half, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.

Down by as many as eight points on the road in the second half and getting out-manned on the boards much of the night, Kansas found enough inner toughness in crunch time Tuesday night to recover for a 66-60 win at Baylor’s Ferrell Center.

KU junior guard Frank Mason III scored eight of his team-high 19 points in the second half to help the Jayhawks (24-4 overall, 12-3 Big 12) maintain a two-game lead in the league standings over West Virginia and Oklahoma and drop Baylor (20-8, 9-6) to three games back.

The Jayhawks held the Bears to 28.6-percent shooting in the second half and finally started securing some defensive rebounds late, despite Baylor getting to 20 offensive boards on the night.

Kansas made 8 of 19 from 3-point range, led by Devonté Graham’s 3-for-7 night, and the visitors shot 50 percent from the floor overall, helping to offset the Bears’ 14 second-chance points.

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

• The game turned when: Landen Lucas snagged an offensive rebound on a Wayne Selden Jr. missed 3-pointer with 3:07 left. Before that, the Bears and Jayhawks kept trading jabs in a game that featured 8 ties and 17 lead changes. Lucas came up with 5 offensive rebounds (10 total) in the victory and his put-back on that Selden miss gave KU the lead for good.

• Offensive highlight: The way this one went KU had to get a bucket out of a timeout with just more than a minute and a half to play, and the Bears within a point. So what did Bill Self draw up? A lob for Selden, who threw down a perfect pass from Graham, giving Kansas a 60-57 advantage with 1:27 left.

• Defensive highlight: It certainly wasn’t flashy, but Lucas came up with a timely steal in the paint with the game tied at 55. His good hands showed up again on the ensuing offensive possession, with his aforementioned put-back.

• Key stat: Field-goal percentage. This was the only area where KU held a clear advantage. The Jayhawks’ ability to shoot 50 percent to Baylor’s 36 percent gave them a chance to stay in the game, when BU won the rebound battle 33-28.

• Up next: KU returns to Allen Fieldhouse for an 11 a.m. Saturday tip versus surging Texas Tech. A win in that one would assure the Jayhawks of at least a share of their 12th consecutive Big 12 regular-season title.

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