Harris' Hot Shooting Helps KU Avoid Late Tech Comeback, Win 75-72

Kansas faced another red-hot first-half team Tuesday in Texas Tech, but avoided falling behind by 15 at halftime thanks to one likely offensive source and one more unlikely source.

When the Red Raiders and freshman Pop Isaac came out firing on all cylinders, it was Dajuan Harris hitting two early threes and eight quick points to cut a 13-5 Tech lead to 15-10. Then it was Jalen Wilson’s turn. Harris found Wilson for a mid-range floater and then Wilson hit two threes of his own to give Kansas a 23-22 lead. The combo of Harris and Wilson scored 21 of the Jayhawks’ first 23 points.

The player with the most attention coming into the game was Kevin McCullar making his return to Lubbock as an opponent for the first time. And it wasn’t an ideal start for the transfer, who picked up two quick fouls and had to sit for a long chunk of the first half. But McCullar made an impact when he came back in, hitting a three to give Kansas a 26-25 lead.

A handful of Jayhawks took their turn to step up in the final five minutes of the first half. Dick hit back-to-back shots for his only points of the half to tie the game at 32. Then Pettiford hit a three as part of an incredible first half that was critical with Joseph Yesufu out with a hamstring injury. Pettiford had three rebounds and five assists in the first 20 minutes to go with his three.

Finally, it was the KJ Adams show. Adams scored Kansas’ final eight points of the half on his way to 10 total, while also creating some big defensive plays. And despite being down eight early, Kansas took a 43-36 lead into halftime. KU hit 7-14 threes while shooting 56% from the field in the first half while Tech hit five threes of their own.

The Jayhawks’ hot shooting didn’t cool off during the halftime break. Harris hit two more threes in the first four minutes while Dick hit a three of his own and tipped in his own miss to start the half. Texas Tech made a 10-3 run as Kansas turned the ball over, cutting the lead to 57-52. But Dick continued to succeed in chasing his own misses and putting it back, extending the lead to 59-52 before Wilson found Pettiford driving to the basket to give KU a nine-point lead.

Tech kept clawing back every time Kansas tried to extend the lead. The lead was down to seven when Harris hit his fifth three of the night (a career high from behind the arc) to give KU a 10-point lead, but Kevin Obanor immediately answered with a three of his own. Obanor hit another after a Wilson free throw to again cut the lead to five with three minutes left.

Two more free throws from Tech made it a one-possession game with two minutes left as part of an 8-1 run. And then the Red Raiders go coast to coast to make it 71-70. It was McCullar who struggled all night but hit a 15-footer to break the drought. Obanor would score again and Kansas had the ball up one with 50 seconds left.

A Dick miss gave Tech the ball back down one with 25 seconds left. Isaacs drove and fell down, McCullar grabbed the steal and threw it ahead to Adams for a dunk with five seconds left to give KU a three-point lead. The Jayhawks decided not to foul and Tech missed the last-second three to secure the Kansas win.

Four Jayhawks scored in double figures, led by Harris (yes, you read that right) with a career-high 18 points to go with three assists and two steals. Adams finished with 16 and five, Wilson with 14 and six, and Dick with 11 and a team-high eight rebounds. 

Obanor led all scorers with 26 on 6-7 shooting from three. This was Tech's first loss in 29 games and the first time Red Raiders coach Mark Adams has lost back-to-back games at Tech. 

Kansas will stay on the road this weekend as the Jayhawks travel to Morgantown to face West Virginia.