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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, November 20, 2009

No. 1 Kansas runs away, 94-44


Associated Press

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The wake-up call over, Kansas is back to rolling.

Tyrel Reed hit four 3-pointers for 12 points and No. 1 Kansas scored 23 straight points in the first half to overwhelm Central Arkansas, 94-44, last night.

Coming off a tight victory over Memphis two days earlier, Kansas (3-0) dismantled Central Arkansas from the start. Spreading the ball around on offense, the Jayhawks shot 57 percent, had four players score 12 points and had just seven turnovers for their 43rd straight home win.

"I'm proud of the way we bounced back," Reed said. "After having a close game, we brought a lot of energy. We could have been a little deflated after playing Memphis, but we did a good job of executing."

Too bad for Central Arkansas (1-2). The Bears never stood a chance in their first game at Allen Fieldhouse.

Central Arkansas struggled defensively, unable to match up inside with the bigger, stronger Jayhawks, and not quick enough to rotate out to their perimeter shooters on kickouts.

The Bears were even worse on offense, struggling to find shots, missing when they did. Central Arkansas went 12 minutes without a field goal during Kansas' big first-half run, and had one player — Jared Rehmel with 11 — score in double figures.

After Rehmel hit a 3-pointer to close the Bears to 8-5, Kansas went on its 23-0 run en route to a 37-15 lead at intermission.

"We had a few open looks and I thought that at times we were shooting to avoid a block instead of shooting to make a basket," Central Arkansas coach Randy Chappell said.

Offensively, the Jayhawks moved the ball around the perimeter for open jumpers and deep postups, looking nothing like the team that played too fast and had coach Bill Self shaking his head against Memphis. Nine players with at least seven points and four players with at least three assists was more of what Self has in mind from his team.

"We took care of the basketball; that's a positive after pitching the ball all over the building Tuesday," Self said.

NO. 4 KENTUCKY 102, SAM HOUSTON STATE 92

DeMarcus Cousins had 27 points and 18 rebounds to help the host Wildcats (3-0) overcome the Bearkats (2-1). Corey Allmond made a Rupp Arena record 11 3-pointers en route to 37 points as the Bearkats made 18 of 38 3-pointers.

NO. 5 VILLANOVA 69, GEORGE MASON 68

Freshman Isaiah Armwood hit his only shot of the game, a go-ahead 3-pointer with 17 seconds left, to rally the Wildcats (3-0) past the Patriots (2-1) in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off at San Juan.

WAC MEN

SEATTLE 85, FRESNO STATE 84

Cervante' Burrell scored on a baseline reverse with 8.3 seconds left, then came up with a steal as the host Redhawks (1-2) capped a night honoring Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor with a victory over the Bulldogs (2-1).

RANKED WOMEN

NO. 2 STANFORD 99, PEPPERDINE 50

Kayla Pedersen had 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists, helping the host Cardinal (3-0) extend their winning streak at Maples Pavilion to 30 games.

NO. 3 OHIO STATE 92, WEST VIRGINIA 69

Samantha Prahalis had 14 points and 12 assists, and the host Buckeyes (3-0) opened the game with a 17-0 run to cruise past the Mountaineers (2-1) in the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT.