photo by: AP Photo/Ben McKeown

Kansas's Tre White, center, handles the ball ahead of Darryn Peterson (22) as North Carolina State's Tre Holloman, right, defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025.

Raleigh, N.C. — Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. surpassed his career high for 3-point attempts in a game in less than a half of gameplay on Saturday night, and his career high for 3-point makes midway through the second period. By the end of the game, he had more than doubled his total production from beyond the arc on the season.

Council led the Jayhawks with 36 points on 13-for-27 shooting, including nine 3s, as they escaped a significant challenge from N.C. State at the Lenovo Center with a 77-76 win in overtime on Saturday night.

Darryn Peterson supplemented Council’s success with 17 points, but exited, apparently due to injury, in a two-point game late in the second half. Darrion Williams and Ven-Allen Lubin each recorded double-doubles for the Wolfpack, as Williams nearly singlehandedly won the game for N.C. State in overtime, while Quadir Copeland led the way with 19 points.

Flory Bidunga committed two fouls in the first three minutes, creating an early bit of adversity for the Jayhawks. N.C. State gave Council a massive cushion at the 3-point line, which resulted in him shooting 2-for-6 from beyond the arc before any other KU player made a shot of any kind. Back-to-back buckets by Lubin, including a thunderous dunk over KU’s Bryson Tiller, forced a timeout with the Jayhawks trailing 11-7.

KU was 2-for-15 from the field and N.C. State was 4-for-18 when Tre White put in a leaning layup with 10:42 to go in the half to tie the game.

A turnover by Elmarko Jackson resulted in an and-1 for Copeland in transition that put the Wolfpack ahead 17-13, but from that point on the Jayhawks started to experience some previously elusive success on offense. Council, still largely uncovered, made two additional 3-pointers in a row, and Peterson — after having a second foul wiped away upon review — got on the board with a pair of contested shots. KU forced a shot-clock violation with a 25-23 lead entering the under-four timeout, and Peterson added a free throw afterward.

The Jayhawks extended their run to seven straight with crisp ball movement that yielded dunks by Tiller and Bidunga before N.C. State finally ended its drought on a tough drive by Holloman.

That revived the long-dormant Lenovo Center crowd, and the Wolfpack made just its second 3-pointer of the half with the previously scoreless Paul McNeil Jr., then added a putback by Williams to tie the game entering the half as KU’s momentum completely evaporated.

The Jayhawks generated a series of good looks early in the second half, including a corner 3 on which White was wide open for several seconds, but didn’t capitalize. They did, however, get a pair of 3s from Peterson and a key dunk by Bidunga.

KU led 44-38 on a 12-2 run but once again failed to pull away, as Holloman got isolated on Council at the end of the shot clock and drained a deep 3 despite the tight defense. Then Matt Able hit from the corner to tie the game at 51 after the Jayhawks had been nursing a narrow lead.

Bill Self called timeout after the Wolfpack retook the lead on a layup by Lubin with 8:15 to go.

It was a brutal battle from then on. N.C. State went three and a half minutes without scoring, but KU never went up more than a possession. With Peterson on the bench, Council drilled a sixth 3-pointer to make it 58-55, but Lubin and Copeland scored once apiece in the paint in response.

Council’s seventh gave the Jayhawks the lead again, and they regained the ball but couldn’t score. Copeland tied the game with a pair of free throws with two minutes to go, but Council made a tough layup in response.

Lubin tied the game again, at which point Council hit his eighth to put KU ahead 66-63.

Then came Williams, KU’s kryptonite each of the last two seasons when he was at Texas Tech, with a big-time shot from the left wing to even the score.

Council and Bidunga missed once each through heavy contact on KU’s last offensive possession, and Copeland’s runner rattled out at the buzzer.

Williams scored three seconds into overtime after intercepting the jump ball, but Council made his ninth 3 immediately afterward to pick off a 7-0 run.

Williams brought it to an end once again when he got an open look from beyond the arc off an inbounds play. Council short-armed a floater, and Jamari McDowell committed a foul while going for the rebound — and then Williams made yet another 3.

White responded with a pair of free throws, but Copeland restored the lead to N.C. State.

Bidunga threw down a dunk with under a minute remaining. Copeland got the matchup he wanted on McDowell, but his shot rattled out and the Wolfpack had to foul Council.

After a review to determine whether Council had elbowed Alyn Breed resulted in a common-foul call on Breed getting upheld, Council missed the front ends of two separate one-and-one opportunities late. However, Williams had another 3 go in and out, and the Wolfpack’s final opportunity with 1.1 seconds left — also from Williams — was far wide.

The Jayhawks will return home to face Towson at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

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