Quick recap: No. 2 Kansas takes down New Mexico State, 63-60

Kansas guard Devon Dotson (11) floats in for a shot between New Mexico State forward Eli Chuha (22) and New Mexico State forward Johnny McCants (35) during the first half on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018 at Sprint Center.

It wasn’t always the prettiest showing, but No. 2 Kansas found a way to survive once again.

KU (8-0) struggled for much of its non-conference clash with New Mexico State Saturday night in the Sprint Center. Just like they have done a number of times during the young season, though, the Jayhawks made enough plays down the stretch to claim a 63-60 victory.

Junior Dedric Lawson scored 11 consecutive points for Kansas during a three-minute stretch late in the contest to help deny the upset-bid by NMSU. Lawson finished with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting in the win.

With the win, the Jayhawks are 8-0 to start the year for the first time since the 2010-11 team opened the season with an 18-0 record. In addition, KU is now 39-9 in games played inside Sprint Center.

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

• The game turned when:Lawson drilled a go-ahead triple with 3:23 left in the game.

The 3-pointer capped an 11-point run by Lawson, which took place between the 6:40 mark and the 3:23 mark in the second half. The stretch by Lawson gave KU a 60-57 advantage late in the game after New Mexico State had led for much of the contest.

Meanwhile, prior to that stretch, Lawson had just six points in the first 34-plus minutes of action.

• Offensive highlight: KU coach Bill Self remains the best in sets after a timeout.

With 15:02 left in the game, Self drew up something to get a dunk. Even without starting center Udoka Azubuike, who is sidelined indefinitely with an ankle sprain, Self called a set to get a slam by his post.

Mitch Lightfoot, the team’s center at the time, was wide open near the rim when senior Lagerald Vick threaded a pass his way. Lightfoot capitalized with a slam, bringing KU within five points. The two linked up for a fastbreak slam with 12:01 left in the contest, which received the loudest cheer from the crowd at that point.

• Defensive highlight: It was all Kansas early on in the Sprint Center.

Charlie Moore, who got his first start of the season, displayed a ton of energy early on for the Jayhawks. Leading by eight points, Moore swiped the ball away from a driving New Mexico State player.

Moore wasted no time, heading to the other end before flipping a no-look pass behind him to a trailing Marcus Garrett, who flushed the transition slam home.

•Key stat: Vick was lighting the world on fire during a five-game stretch of where he seemingly couldn’t miss.

Since his heroics against Stanford, which included a game-tying triple at the end of the regulation, Vick had been a non-factor. Vick came off the bench in each of the last two games as well.

With 11:25 left in the game, Vick had a layup in transition that ended his longest scoring drought of the season. Prior to his layup, Vick had not scored since netting a 3-pointer with 2:22 left in overtime against Stanford. In fact, Vick had played 44 minutes between baskets.

•Up next: Kansas plays host to Villanova at 11 a.m. Saturday.