No. 5 Kansas defeats UCLA, advances to Maui Invitational Finals

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LAHINA, Hawaii – Perry Ellis scored 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting as No. 5 Kansas defeated UCLA in the semifinals of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational on Tuesday at Lahina Civic Center. KU advances to the finals of the event and will face No. 19 Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.

The Jayhawks (3-1) shot 54 percent from the field and reached double-figure 3-point field goals for the third time this season, finishing 10 for 23 from long range.

“We played so well – we ran and our defense was sound for the most part,” Bill Self said after the game. “We made shots and we played fast. It seemed like to me that we were chasing every long rebound into transition. Our guys were ready to play tonight, and certainly we will have to be ready to play tomorrow against a really great Vanderbilt team.”

Junior guard Frank Mason III had 16 points and seven assists, junior guard Wayne Selden Jr. scored 15 and sophomore guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk had 13 in a game that Kansas led by as many as 29 points.

In the first half, KU’s offense did not skip a beat from yesterday’s 123-72 win over Chaminade. Kansas poured in 59 first-half points against UCLA to take a 26-point lead into halftime, 59-33.

Kansas opened the game with a 6-0 run and did not give up the lead for the remainder of the game. KU finished the first half shooting 58 percent (19 of 33) from the field, 53 percent (8 of 15) from 3-point range, and 87 percent (13 of 15) from the free throw line. The Jayhawks committed only three turnovers and outrebounded the Bruins 23-15.

Perry Ellis (18 points) and Wayne Selden (12) led the Jayhawks in scoring at the break.

Mason dished out all of his seven assists in the first half and finished the game with no turnovers.

UCLA (3-2) kept pace in the second half behind a team-high 19 points from Isaac Hamilton, but KU’s halftime lead proves to be insurmountable.

NEXT UP
Kansas advances to the Maui Jim Maui Invitational finals to face No. 19 Vanderbilt on Wednesday (9 p.m. Central, ESPN). It is KU’s second appearance in the Maui Invitational championship game, winning the event in 1996.

POSTGAME NOTES

#5/7 Kansas 92, Chaminade 93
Maui Jim Maui Invitational Semifinal – Lahina, Hawaii (Lahina Civic Center)
Tuesday, November 24, 2015

KU STARTERS (Season/Career Starts): Jr. G Frank Mason, III (4/44), So. G Devonte Graham (4/4), Jr. G Wayne Selden, Jr. (4/75), Sr. F Perry Ellis (4/75), Sr. F Jamari Traylor (4/23)

SERIES INFO: UCLA leads, 10-8.

ATTENDANCE: 2,400

TEAM NOTES
50+ POINTS IN A HALF: Kansas started Tuesday’s game with 59 points in the first half against UCLA. The Jayhawks have now reached at least 50 points in a half five times in four games this season.
SCORING MARGIN: KU’s average scoring margin is +25.3 points this season after defeating UCLA by 19 on Tuesday. The Jayhawks are averaging 99.2 points per game and holding opponents to 74.0 points per game.  
SCORING IN TRANSITION: Kansas scored 15 fast break points, including 11 in the first half. UCLA finished with six transition points, including two in the first half.
3-POINTERS: Kansas reached double-figure 3-point field goals made for the third time in four games this season. The Jayhawks shot 10 of 23 from long range on Tuesday. Last season Kansas reached double-figure treys in six of 36 games with a season-high 12 against Lafayette (12/20/14).
ASSISTS AND TURNOVERS: Kansas totaled 19 assists and just 10 turnovers on Tuesday. No Jayhawk had more than two turnovers individually.
DEFENSE: Kansas limited UCLA’s leading scorer, Bryce Alford (17.0 ppg), to six points and one field goal (1-6 FG).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Junior G Frank Mason III
• Dished out seven assists with zero turnovers. Through four games this season, features a +5.2 assist-to-turnover ratio (26 to 5).
• Scored 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 shooting from 3-point range in 31 minutes.

Senior F Perry Ellis
• Reached 20 points for the second time this season, leading Kansas with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 shooting from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 shooting at the free throw line. Added six rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
• Now has 634 career rebounds, passing Jeff Withey (2010-13) for 22nd on KU’s all-time rebounds list.
• Now has 1,229 career points, passing Jacque Vaughn (1994-97; 1,207) for 35th-place on KU’s all-time scoring list.

Junior G Wayne Selden Jr.
• Scored 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range with three assists in 15 minutes.
• Leads Kansas with 13 3-pointers made this season (3.3 3FG per game).

Senior F Jamari Traylor
• Made 2 of 2 shots at the free throw line to remain perfect from the charity stripe this season (10 of 10).
• Finished with six points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field in 20 minutes.

Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham
• Scored the first bucket of the game by making a 3-pointer. Kansas did not give up the lead for the remainder of the game
• Led Kansas in steals (three).
• Finished with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes.

Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk
• Reached double-figure points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. Scored 18 points against Chaminade on Monday and 13 points against UCLA on Tuesday.

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