January 07, 2007

Jayhawks' Defense Stifles Gamecocks, 70-54

Jan. 7, 2007

Columbia, S.C. –

The University of Kansas men’s basketball team (13-2) defeated South Carolina (10-3), 70-54, Sunday afternoon at the Colonial Center. Kansas’ defense held South Carolina without a field goal for over eight minutes in each half and limited the Gamecocks to 39 percent shooting from the field.

Sophomore Mario Chalmers finished with a game-high 19 points and added five steals and three assists to his line. Freshman Darrell Arthur scored 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Sophomore Julian Wright stuffed the stat sheet with six points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. Fellow sophomore Brandon Rush was the Jayhawks’ third double-digit scorer, finishing with 12 points and six rebounds.

KU forced 16 South Carolina turnovers, which it converted into 23 points. The Jayhawks’ bench outscored the Gamecocks’, 23-7, and Kansas won the rebounding battle, 31-28.

Kansas led 32-28 at halftime behind Chalmers’ 13 points and four steals. After falling behind 4-0 at the start of the game, the Jayhawks went on an 18-5 run in which they held the Gamecocks without a field goal for over eight minutes. Arthur punctuated the run with a devastating two-handed slam.

Kansas returns to the hardwood on Jan. 10, when it open Big 12 play against No.12 Oklahoma State. The game, which will be broadcast on ESPN2, is set to start at 8 p.m.