Dec. 8, 2012

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No. 9 Kansas 90, Colorado 54 Allen Fieldhouse // Lawrence, Kan.

Elijah Johnson puts up a shot over Colorado's Josh Scott in Kansas' 90-54 win over the Buffaloes. 1st 2nd Final (9) Kansas 43 47 90 Colorado 22 32 54 Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF) Game Coverage  Notes | Highlights | Postgame Interviews  Statistical Leaders   Kansas Colorado  Points B. McLemore (24) J. Scott (19)  Rebounds K. Young (8) A. Roberson (11)  Assists T. Releford (6) X. Talton (3)  Steals Four with (2) Three with (2)  Blocks Withey (5) A. Roberson (2)  Stats at a Glance KU CU  FG Percentage 54.8 37.0  3-Point FG Percentage 40.0 15.4  FT Percentage 82.4 57.1  Offensive Rebounds 10 11  Defensive Rebounds 27 21  Total Rebounds 37 32  Turnovers 13 18  Points in the Paint 46 26  Points off Turnovers 26 17  Second Chance Points 16 6  Fast Break Points 20 12  Bench Points 21 8

LAWRENCE, Kan.--Senior forward Kevin Young scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the No. 9/9 Kansas men's basketball team to a 90-54 win over Colorado Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas (7-1) chalked up 90 points for the first time this season in the Jayhawks' first meeting with Colorado (7-2) since the Buffaloes moved to the Pac-12 in 2011. The Jayhawks' 36-point win marked the second time KU has outscored a Pac-12 opponent by more than 30 points this season.

Kansas redshirt freshman guard Ben McLemore led all scorers with 24 points as four Jayhawks scored in double figures for the third-straight game. Along with Young's 16 points, his highest scoring output as a Jayhawk, senior guards Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford added 11 points and 10 points, respectively.

KU shot over 50 percent from the floor for the second-straight game as the Jayhawks were 34-of-62 for 55 percent from the floor. Kansas also dominated the paint, scoring 46 points to Colorado's 26 in the lane.

The Jayhawks came out firing early using full court pressure to jump out to a 10-1 lead just 2:06 into the game. By the second media timeout, Kansas had pushed its advantage to 25-8 and had forced seven Colorado turnovers that led to 13 KU points. Colorado was able to close the Kansas lead to 29-18 with just over seven minutes to play in the half, but the Jayhawks responded with a 9-0 run over the next 2:39 to push the lead to 20 and force a Colorado timeout with four minutes remaining in the period.

The first half belonged to McLemore, who scored 17 points in the half while going 8-of-9 from the free throw line. The St. Louis native also added 4 boards and 2 steals in 18 minutes.

As a team the Jayhawks shot 50 percent (16-of-32) from the field in the first half and 82 percent (9-of-11) from the free throw line. Kansas forced 12 Buffalo turnovers leading to 22 points while only committing two turnovers of its own, the fewest for the Jayhawks in a half this season.

Leading 43-22 at the half, the Jayhawks scored the first nine points of the second period to push their lead to 52-22 before Colorado's Askia Booker was able to turn a steal from McLemore into a fast break layup to end the Buffalo scoring drought.

Young led the way for Kansas in the second period scoring all eight of his second half points in the first seven and a half minutes of the frame.

The Jayhawks continued the defensive pressure, forcing six more turnovers as the KU lead hovered near 40 points for much of the half.

The Buffaloes were led by Josh Scott who scored 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Askia Booker added 15 points and four rebounds. Kansas was able to neutralize Colorado's André Roberson who came into the game averaging a double-double as the junior scored just eight points while pulling down 11 boards.

UP NEXT
No. 9/9 Kansas will welcome Belmont to Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.