Strong Second Half Pushes KU Past Colorado

BOULDER, Colo. - An early second half run by the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks helped push KU past Colorado and earn a 72-59 victory here Saturday afternoon.

The win improves Kansas to 21-1 on the season and 6-1 in the Big 12 Conference. Colorado meanwhile drops to 9-12 (1-6 Big 12) as they extend its losing streak to five games.
 
With a 30-30 tie after the first half, Kansas used an 8-0 run to open the second half and gain a lead it would never lose. Colorado was held scoreless over the first five minutes after the break and was limited to just nine points after 10 minutes.
 
The Jayhawks used another 11-2 run late in the second half thanks to back-to-back-to-back dunks from Sasha Kaun, Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers to pull out of the Buffaloes' reach and seal the victory.

Senior Darnell Jackson led KU with 18 points including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Rush and Kaun also notched double figure points chipping in 15 and 12, respectively. Rush added a team-high six rebounds in the effort.
 
Colorado shot nearly 40 percent from behind the arc in the opening frame and took advantage of 10 Kansas miscues to hold a lead over the Jayhawks for much of the first 20 minutes.
 
Rush cut the Buffaloes' lead by one at the 6:16 mark after fighting for a putback on a miss by Jackson. Kaun gave KU its first lead of the game, 24-23, on the Jayhawks' next trip down with 5:25 remaining on a short hook shot in the paint.
 
The team's traded the lead two more times before a three-pointer by CU tied the game at 28 with two and half minutes to play. The Buffaloes took their last lead of the first half with a minute to go but Jackson hit a pair of free throws with a just a second left to lock the score at 30 heading into the break. Jackson finished with 10 of his team-high 18 points in the first half.

Box Score

Story courtesy:  KUAC