Second Half Surge Propels Jayhawks over Beavers in Shootout, 82-67

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Perry Ellis found his stroke and Wayne Selden, Jr., poured it on as Kansas rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to top Oregon State, 82-67, at the Jayhawk Shootout inside Sprint Center Saturday night. Kansas shot 65.6 percent from the field in the second half to lead by as many as 16 points after trailing by 14 in the first half.

Ellis scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, including KU’s go-ahead bucket, and Selden provided a spark and the bulk of the points with a game-best 22 as the Jayhawks scored the nets for better than 60 percent in a half for the fifth time this season. Frank Mason III scored the second most for Kansas with 18, added a team-best six assists, and was joined by Devonte’ Graham (10) as four Jayhawks reached double figures.

Kansas very much played the part of aggressor, especially on defense, in the game’s opening five minutes, but the first half would eventually belong to the Beavers (6-2). Kansas held Oregon State without a field goal for a little more than five minutes, including a shot-clock violation on the game’s first possession. Unfazed, the Beavers drained seven of their next 10 shots, including four three-pointers to lead 22-9 by the time the next five minutes had passed.

With Kansas on the ropes, Oregon State continued to jab as Tres Tinkle came off the bench to pour in five of six three-point attempts before the break and led all players with 16 first-half points. Oregon State led by 14 on a jumper by Drew Eubanks with 1:48 to play before halftime, but a three-pointer on the next KU possession by Selden cut it to 11 at 39-28 – the margin as both teams headed to the locker rooms.

Kansas’ first-half tally was its second-lowest total this season, but just like the first time against Vanderbilt (26), the Jayhawks boomeranged back in a big way.

The Jayhawks made their first four buckets of the second half and 11 of their first 12, while the defense did the inverse to Oregon State. After scoring at a 52-percent clip in the first half – 70 percent from three – the Beavers were held to just 34.5 percent in the second half, including 16.7 percent from three.

Selden’s fast-break 3-pointer at 14:57 tied the game at 48, then Ellis hit a jumper from the left side with the shot clock waning to give KU it’s first lead since three minutes into the contest. KU’s senior leader didn’t stop there, draining a three on a kick out from Mickelson on the next possession to keep KU rolling, 53-48.

Graham got in on the streak, stealing a pass near midcourt and jetting through the lane for a fast-break layup to make it 55-48. Later he hit a three to push the margin into double figures at 66-55 as Oregon State suffered through a 1-for-12 shooting drought.

An alley-oop from Graham to fresh-man Carlton Bragg delighted the crowd and marked one of the peaks of the rally at 70-56.
Tinkle was limited to four points in the second half and finished with an Oregon State-best 20 points. Gary Payton II turned in the game’s only double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Jarmal Reid added 11 points off the bench.

UP NEXT
Kansas will take a week off for final exams and returns to Allen Fieldhouse against Montana on Dec. 19 at 1 p.m, on Jayhawk IMG TV/ESPN3. During the game, Kansas Athletics will attempt to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for “largest gathering of people wearing holiday sweaters.” Fans are encouraged to wear a holiday sweater, with KU themed items available for purchase at Kansas Sampler among other retailers, defined as having long sleeves and at least one holiday themed item on it (i.e. reindeer, trees, snowman, peppermint candies, lights, etc.).

GAME NOTES
KU STARTERS (SEASON/CAREER STARTS): Jr. G Frank Mason, III (9/48), So. G Devonte Graham (9/9), Jr. G Wayne Selden, Jr. (9/80), Sr. F Perry Ellis (9/80), Sr. F Hunter Mickelson (2/27)

SERIES INFO

Saturday night marked the second meeting in program history between Kansas and Oregon State. The Jayhawks claimed an 84-78 victory against the Beavers on Nov. 30, 2012, at the Kansas City Shootout in Sprint Center.
Oregon State is the second Pac-12 school Kansas has faced this season. KU defeated UCLA, 92-73, in the semifinal of the 2015 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, in Lahaina, Hawaii, on Nov. 24.

SPRINT CENTER ATTENDANCE: 18,612 (18,756)

KANSAS’ WIN…

Makes Kansas 8-1 on the season and 2,161-832 all-time.
Makes the series with Oregon State 2-0 in favor of the Jayhawks and 2-0 against Pac-12 programs in 2015-16. Kansas owns a 196-73 (.728) all-time record against Pac-12 programs.
Makes Kansas 28-6 in Sprint Center and 213-80 all-time in games played in Kansas City. Makes Bill Self 360-79 while at Kansas and 567-184 all-time.

TEAM NOTES

Oregon State scored first and led the Jayhawks for just over 16 minutes in the first half, which ended KU’s streak of not trailing an opponent for nearly 139 minutes.
Kansas concluded the first 20 minutes of play with just two made shots from beyond the arc, marking the fewest made treys since KU sank only one in the second half against Michigan State (11/17).
Out of its eight victories of the season, Kansas has won by 10 or more in six of those wins.
The Jayhawks overcame a 14-point deficit against Oregon State, marking the largest deficit Kansas has faced and overcome this year.
KU headed to the locker room at halftime trailing an opponent for just the second time this season. Kansas’ 11-point deficit at the halftime break marked the largest halftime deficit of the year. The only other time that the Jayhawks trailed after the first half was by four to Vanderbilt (11/25). The Jayhawks improve to 2-0 in 2015-16 when trailing at halftime.
Kansas’ 28 first-half points is just the second time an opponent has held KU to under 30 points in the opening half this. The Jayhawks were limited to 26 first-half points against Vanderbilt (11/25).
The Jayhawks shot 65.6 percent from the field in the second half against the Beavers, marking the fifth half of the season Kansas has shot 60 percent or better.
Kansas’ 11 steals tied for a team season high, which has been done each of the last two games.
Since coming back to the mainland, sophomore G Devonte Graham has a 15-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, while junior G Frank Mason III has a 21-7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Combined, the two guards have posted a 36-8 assist-to-turnover ratio for 4.38, while averaging 15.5 and 10.0 points per game, respectively.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. drained five three-pointers, tying his career-high mark. Selden recorded five treys at Oklahoma (1/18/14) and against Iowa State (2/2/15). The Roxbury, Massachusetts native has shot 50 percent or higher from beyond the arc eight times in 2015-16.
Selden’s five made three-pointers moved him into 18th place on KU’s all-time list with 118 career treys, passing Brady Morningstar and Sean Pearson. His eight three-point attempts gives him 304 for his career, which moves him into a tie for 19th place with Paul Pierce and in the process, passed Steve Woodberry.
Selden led all scorers with 22 points on the night, his second 20-point performance of the year and ninth of his career.
Junior G Frank Mason III finished the night with a season-high 18 points, marking his 11th-straight game netting double figures dating back to last season. Mason’s double-digit scoring streak began with 13 points against Iowa State (3/14) during the 2015 Big 12 Championship.
Senior Perry Ellis scored 13 points against Oregon State, surpassing Eric Chenowith on KU’s all-time scoring list. Ellis is tied for 29th with Jo Jo White, collecting 1,286 career points.
Ellis grabbed nine boards against the Beavers to pass Markieff Morris, moving into 19th on the all-time rebounds list. He now has 665 career rebounds.

POSTGAME QUOTES
Kansas head coach Bill Self
On the second half being the best half of the year:
“Yeah, you saw the best and the worst of the Kansas Jayhawks tonight. That was the worst we have played all year in the first half and they played a lot better than us. The second half, that’s the best we’ve played. I thought we played terrific that second half.”

On playing three guys all 20 minutes of the second half:
“Guys weren’t tired. Our starters, obviously, no one did a good job the first half. I don’t know that we came out flat, we got great defensive possessions to start and got a couple of steals then gave it right back to them which led to five points and we missed all of our free throws it seemed like. (Tres) Tinkle was great the first half. I don’t know that our defense was awful, but the more we fell behind the more it seemed like the more energy we lost. Subbing didn’t do anything for us either. Second half I planned on playing everyone again but when we got on a roll and got going good and guys said they weren’t tired I didn’t see any reason to sub. The reality is we have to be better when you get an opportunity to play and give us some positive energy. But Frank (Mason III), Devonte’ (Graham) and Wayne (Selden Jr.) showed me that you can pressure and still stay out there the whole time, because the second half that’s the most we pressured all season long. They had energy and it was contagious, so I didn’t see any reason to sub.”

On team dynamics at halftime:
“There was some policing going on. They were more like cross guards the first half and I was probably more of a police chief coming in. I was disappointed in our effort; I didn’t think anyone came ready to play. I think that is a reflection of me not getting them ready to play without question. I can’t just put it on them. We need to do a better job of getting the guys ready to play, but it gets frustrating and old to me when it’s the same thing over and over again.”

Kansas junior guard Wayne Selden Jr.
On panic in the locker room:
“No, it wasn’t panic it was fixing what we had to fix. I told Devonte’ (Graham) and Frank (Mason III) at halftime we had to fix it because the team goes with how we go.”

On the difference coming out of halftime:
“We were really just more efficient on the offensive end, we took better shots.”

On feeding off Devonte Graham’s energy:
“Like I said earlier, the team goes how we go. We feed off each others energy and I feel like if I make a shot Devonte’ feels like he can make shots, and if Frank is making shots we just go off each other.”

On Carlton Bragg’s passing game:
“He’s a good passer. He looks for the open teammate, and him being able to knock down that mid-range shot really opens him up for that.”

On doing what’s necessary to win:
“At all cost. I don’t care how it happens as long as we win. If I’m out there the whole half then so be it.”

On defending the perimeter in the second half:
“I felt like we pressured and got outplayed forty, defense, full court man trying to just deny them, take time of the clock so they wouldn’t have as much time to run their offense and their sets and passing lanes. Mainly our big focus was rebounding.”

Kansas sophomore guard Devonte’ Graham
On the first half:
“We just came out kind of flat and we didn’t have any energy. We put that on ourselves because the team feeds off our energy. We went into halftime and we said, ‘we have to change it,’ and that’s what we did. We came out with a lot of energy.”

On playing the whole second half:
“The way we were playing, there wasn’t really a reason for him to sub because we were playing with so much energy. I was surprised we played the whole second half and got no breaks, but he (coach) kept asking us if we were tired and we kept saying no. We just wanted to win.”

On defense against Gary Payton II:
“I was just focused in on him. I know he is a good offensive player trying to just rub him anyway I could and he held the ball out a couple of times and I got a hand on it, which led to some fast break points. I was just trying to be all over him defensively.”

On Bill Self’s feelings on the team’s play in the second half:
“He was just happy how we played in the second half, especially us three (Graham, Selden, Mason III) because we played the whole second half and we just kept the same energy from start to finish. It felt like he was happy how we pressured the ball ad we still had energy enough to move on offense; cut pass, make plays for Perry and Hunter and they made big shots. He was just happy overall with the outcome.”

Kansas junior guard Frank Mason, III
On Hunter Mickelson and Carlton Bragg Jr.:
“Hunter and Carlton were great for us from start to finish. In the second half, where it really matters, they did a great job running the floor, playing defense, walling up and rebounding. They finished pretty well. Hunter knocked down some jump shots. It was great. They gave us great energy, and I think that’s why coach kept them in.”

Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle
Opening statement:
“It was a tough second half, obviously. The first half we were very focused on the game plan, very selfless in the execution of it and — even when we faced a little adversity in the first half and they made a run — we responded the right way. Second half we did not but credit them, they shot lights out. Somewhere in the middle there we didn’t defend with the same urgency. We didn’t rebound well in the second half and offensively we didn’t execute. Our guys were running lost, like we were running plays we had never seen before. But give them credit, they came out and were the aggressor in the second half. They made a lot of plays and unfortunately, we didn’t.”

On what was missing on defense in the second half:
“Oh gosh, I just think our guys panicked a little bit. We had some uncharacteristic turnovers that led to layups and then they hit some big threes. What we tell our guys is that, ‘You want to create doubt in your opponents mind.’ It’s one of the things that we stress every day and I think that allowed some doubt to creep in to ours. We didn’t get as vocal and our rotations weren’t there. We didn’t guard on-balls the way we were supposed to and the flood gates opened. We tried a little 2-3 zone and didn’t get to the spots that we normally do. They had an answer for everything and we lost our urgency we had in the first half. It’s okay, it was a big test for us. It was the first time on the road that we were in this situation and we’re going to look at film and address a lot of things from the way some of our guys reacted. We still need our veterans to step up and lead us every second, whether they’re on the floor or not. I know this guy (Gary Payton II) really has and we’re demanding the rest to do the same as they continue to grow. As our young guys continue to gel, we will continue to move forward.”

Oregon State senior guard Gary Payton II
On how much this game was a missed opportunity:
“Like coach said, we knew we came out in the second half flat. They made run’s in the first half but we stayed together, kept calm and composed. We just have to carry that out to the second half.”

On what went wrong defensively in the second half:
“It wasn’t anything special; we just got out of character.”

On if the second half was all on the team and not Kansas making adjustments:
“The thing was in the first half, they made a run, we answered it and then they came out in the second half and we didn’t answer like we did in the first half, and that kind of pushed the lead out.”

Oregon State freshman forward Tres Tinkle
On the rhythm he had in the first half:
“My teammates just found me. All season really I have been in a little bit of a funk and my coaches and teammates kept supporting me and were there for me. They just told me to keep on shooting and I am just trying to have fun, play basketball and enjoy the experience. Coming in, I had nothing to lose all game and I’m lucky to hit some shots and my teammates just found me.”

On what was working for the team so well in the first half:
“We just moved the ball. Like coach was saying, we had to come out and share the ball, be a team, play together, make the extra pass and things like that. Like any basketball team, that’s what helps spark a run and so we tried to do that and lost it in the second half. We just kind of got complacent and we just didn’t stick to our fundamentals.”

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