photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) lays out to knock the ball loose from UNC Wilmington guard Donovan Newby (1) during the first half on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 at Allen Fieldhouse.

UNC Wilmington trailed for the entire first half on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse, but it certainly didn’t feel that way.

The high-flying Seahawks out of the Coastal Athletic Association, who entered the night averaging 108 points through three games, proved quite capable of keeping up with top-ranked Kansas’ offensive pace, aided by a string of tough offensive rebounds and errant long-range shooting by the Jayhawks.

That all changed when KU emerged from halftime on a 16-4 run, pulling away from its opportunistic foes — who didn’t make a field goal for the first seven minutes of the second half — on the way to an 84-66 victory.

A host of Jayhawks chipped in to help reinvigorate the team in the final 20 minutes, but it started with point guard Dajuan Harris Jr., who had 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting to go with six assists and a pair of steals. David Coit put up another strong showing against lesser opposition with 13 points of his own.

Freshman center Flory Bidunga left with an apparent lower leg injury late in the first half and did not emerge from the locker room until about 11 minutes into the second period. KJ Adams saw some brief minutes at center, and Hunter Dickinson posted a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double of the sort he makes look fairly routine.

Bill Self became the third active coach to reach 800 career wins.

Khamari McGriff (18 points, seven rebounds) and Noah Ross (10 points, nine rebounds) acquitted themselves quite well against the KU defense, keeping the Seahawks in it early and then tightening the margin late.

The Jayhawks placed a clear emphasis on playing at a faster pace than UNCW from the opening whistle. and were rewarded with a slew of points in transition. The Seahawks hung tough, getting to the line early and often as they are wont to do, but Harlan Obioha missed a pair of free throws that could have tied the game at 9-9 and KU scored the next four points.

KU suffered from its 1-for-9 start from beyond the three-point line, and UNCW eventually cut its deficit to 19-15 when Donovan Newby banked in a second-chance 3 to make the Seahawks 3-for-6.

Harris and Coit eventually made one 3-pointer apiece to help the Jayhawks stave off a bit of an offensive flurry from UNCW, and Coit served as KU’s leading scorer off the bench in the early stages of the game.

The teams traded baskets for much of the latter portion of the first half, and KU couldn’t seem to stretch its advantage beyond six points despite highlight-reel contested buckets inside by Zeke Mayo and Shakeel Moore. Then, following a turnover by Rylan Griffen, the Seahawks cut it to four points on a close-range fadeaway by Ross with 5:22 to go, and to two on a similar shot with just under four minutes remaining.

AJ Storr provided the response KU needed with a 3-pointer to make it 37-32 in the Jayhawks’ favor. But thanks in large part to conceding a slew of second-chance points — KU gave up nine offensive rebounds in the first half to match its previous single-game high — the Jayhawks went into the break up just 43-38. McGriff’s 14 points for the Seahawks were double the marks of the top KU players, Harris and Hunter Dickinson.

The Jayhawks came out of the break with renewed energy, scoring six quick points highlighted by an intercepted pass from Josh Corbin that Griffen took all the way for a transition layup, and forced a timeout by UNCW coach Takayo Siddle. Despite the stoppage and some momentum-killing foul calls, that early surge developed into the decisive 16-4 run, aided by an impressive coast-to-coast layup by Harris through a foul.

The Seahawks eventually managed to find their way back into the game with a contested shot in the post by McGriff and a three-point play by Ross that made it 59-47.

Harris was again the reason the Jayhawks recovered, as he salvaged a rough possession with a high-arcing shot in the final moments of the shot clock and put KU back up 14.

Rakease Passmore scored his first basket of the game soon afterward, as did Zach Clemence, both as part of a stretch that boosted the Jayhawks’ lead to as many as 20 points — only for UNCW to cut it back to 12 thanks to 3-pointers by Greedy Williams and then Corbin.

The Jayhawks will travel to face No. 12 Duke, a young but highly talented team led by top freshman Cooper Flagg, in Las Vegas next Tuesday.

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