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Published Nov 19, 2024
Quick recap: Strong second half helps KU put away UNCW
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Sam Winton  â€¢  JayhawkSlant
Staff Writer
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Kansas opened the second half with a 12-2 run to put away a scrappy UNCW team, improving to 5-0 on the season with a 84-66 win on Tuesday night in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks outscored UNCW 41-28 in the second half after entering with only a five-point lead.


Dajuan Harris led the way for the Jayhawks with 17 points. He looked ultra-aggressive on offense, taking 10 shots and six threes. Kansas overall struggled to shoot from outside, at 24% but got enough good looks inside.


Hunter Dickinson added a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds while Zeke Mayo and David Coit both scored in double-figures.


Khamari McGriff led UNCW with an efficient 18 points. The Seahawks battled throughout the first half, making a lot of tough shots and competing hard on the glass. However, they couldn't keep up after the Jayhawks turned on the gas in the second half.


First half

Kansas looked to push the pace early, with three of its first four baskets coming on the fastbreak. The Jayhawks got ahead of UNCW's defense with outlet passes and took shots early in the clock, including Rylan Griffen knocking down a three. Sean Moore answered with a three for the Seahawks as Kansas held a 10-7 lead at the first media timeout.


UNCW stayed close as Kansas couldn't get going from outside. Flory Bidunga provided a spark of the bench with a pair of baskets. Elijah Jamison and Donovan Newby knocked home threes for the Seahawks, but Dajuan Harris and David Coit each saw threes fall to give the Jayhawks some breathing room, leading 27-19 with 9:10 in the half.


The Jayhawks went on a short two-minute scoring drought, allowing the Seahawks to cut the lead to five. Shakeel Moore and Zeke Mayo added baskets at the rim, but UNCW wasn't going anywhere. Bill Self called a timeout after the Seahawks made it a four-point game, 32-28, with 5:22 to play.


Kansas dialed up a lob to Bidunga out of the timeout, but it didn't spark much. To make matters worse, Bidunga went down with an injury and headed to the locker room. UNCW cut the Jayhawks' lead to two, but AJ Storr answered with a three to breathe some life back into Allen Fieldhouse.


Harris hit his second three of the half, but UNCW stuck around. The Seahawks hit tough shots and hustled on the glass to be down just five, 43-38, at halftime.

Second half

Kansas started to extend its lead coming out of the break, scoring six straight. Griffen rotated on ball screen help defense for a steal and transition bucket. The Jayhawks got good looks at the rim and led 49-38 just two minutes into the second half.


The Jayhawks ramped up the defensive pressure and UNCW started to feel uncomfortable, turning it over and settling for tough shots. Kansas continued to get good looks at the rim, with Harris propelling another 6-0 run to extend the lead to 55-40.


Kansas went cold after the hot start to the half, going over two minutes without a field goal. UNCW clawed back a bit, scoring five straight to make it a 59-47 game at the under-12 timeout.


UNCW went even colder, going scoreless over a four-minute stretch that put the nail in the coffin. The Seahawks also struggled to hold onto the ball, turning it over four times. Kansas went on an 8-0 run to grow its lead to 20, 67-47. The Jayhawks got contributions from their bench, with both Rakease Passmore and Zach Clemence breaking into the scoring column.


The Seahawks went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 13, knocking down a pair of threes. Coit provided an impact, making a three and layup to keep the Jayhawks going.


Kansas scored six straight out of the under-four timeout to push its lead back to 18 and put the game to bed. The Jayhawks made six of their last seven field goals, including AJ Storr throwing down a lob.

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Updated: Nov 24, 2024 9:27 am
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