Furphy's career-high 23 leads to Kansas win over Cincinnati
Johnny Furphy scored 23 points along with his 11 rebounds to record career-high's in both categories, and lead Kansas to a bounce back win over Cincinnati, 74-69.
After the Bearcats opened the scoring, Kansas went on a 10-0 run that saw Kevin McCullar and Furphy bury triples. Furphy grabbed an offensive rebound before his shot, and after making the shot to make it 10-2, Cincinnati had to call a timeout with 16:25 to go in the opening period.
The Jayhawks saw their entire starting lineup enter the scorebook early, as KJ Adams made a jumper, while Dajuan Harris and Hunter Dickinson scored inside to move the lead up to 19-7.
The Bearcats responded nicely by bringing the game to 21-16 as Dan Skillings started to get going offensively. His three-pointer prompted a timeout from Kansas.
While Kansas came out of the timeout and got a three from Harris, it did not deter the Bearcats, who cut the lead down to 24-23.
The Jayhawks held onto their lead for a good portion of the remaining first half, but Cincinnati went in front 34-33 when Day Day Thomas scored inside with 2:08 to go. That shot was the last field goal of the half for both teams, as the game was tied at 35 when halftime hit.
The Jayhawks did not get a single point from their bench during the half, while the Bearcats scored 20. The Jayhawks were also outrebounded 21-12.
The second half got underway and the starters continued to make their presence felt. After McCullar made a turnaround to open the scoring, Furphy scored the next five Kansas points as they led 42-39.
Furphy continued to impact the game without scoring as his offensive rebound was moved around the perimeter to open up a McCullar for a three to put the Jayhawks up 48-41 with 13:54 to go.
He collected his 10th rebound on the offensive end once again, helping Adams get to the free throw line. Adams made one of two, and Cincinnati scored on the other end to make it 51-45 in favor of Kansas at the under 12 media timeout.
The Jayhawks ran into trouble with 10:02 to go as Dickinson picked up his fourth foul. Parker Braun had already played a normal amount of minutes in relief of him, and was asked to play some extended minutes.
The Jayhawks kept Cincinnati away until through the under-eight timeout, where the score was 55-49.
Dickinson returned to the lineup with 5:24 to go and Kansas leading 59-52, and the Bearcats remained in striking distance at the under four timeout, trailing just 60-54.
After the break, Kevin McCullar created enough space to make a 15-footer and extend the lead to eight. After a Cincinnati free throw, Harris assisted Adams for his 11th point.
His shot was answered by the Bearcats, and Bill Self called a timeout with 2:12 to go to draw up a play, and it did not work. However, Harris improvised and got downhill to find Furphy on the arc to make a three and prompt the crowd to chant his name.
The shot seemed like a dagger, but Cincinnati scored the next four points.
Furphy stayed calm and made two free throws to extend the lead back up to eight and move his total up to 22. The Bearcats answered the free throws and fouled McCullar with 29 seconds left, who made both.
The Bearcats refused to go into the night quietly and scored with little resistance to bring it back within six at 71-65. After a timeout, they fouled Furphy, who made one of two.
The Bearcats called a timeout once again, causing fans to groan at the extension of the game that they felt like their team had already won the game.
After another basket, Cincinnati fouled Elmarko Jackson with 12 seconds left. Jackson made both free throws to go up seven and put the game away. Those were the first bench points of the game, and Kansas closed out the game to win 74-69.