Jayhawks Stay Perfect, Beat No. 8 Kentucky
Jan. 9, 2005
LEXINGTON, Ky. – In the first true road game of the season, the second ranked Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team held on to beat No. 8 Kentucky 65-59, Sunday in Lexington, Ky., in front of a raucous Rupp Arena crowd of 24,367. With the win, KU improves to 11-0 on the season.
With KU clinging to a 58-56 lead, senior guard Michael Lee knocked down a three pointer with 31 seconds remaining to give the Jayhawks a 61-56 lead. On the ensuing possession, Kentucky junior Ravi Moss connected on a three from the corner to cut the Jayhawk lead to just two with 21 seconds remaining.
Senior guard Aaron Miles was then fouled on the in bounds and knocked down two free throws to put the game on ice for KU.
Kansas junior Christian Moody led four Jayhawks in double-figures, scoring a career-high 11 points. Freshman C.J. Giles also added a career-high in his third collegiate start with 10 points, while sophomore J.R. Giddens and senior Keith Langford each scored 10 points. Moody and Langford tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds each.
Freshman Sasha Kaun played 12 strong minutes, scoring a career-high seven points.
“We shot well in the second half and we made plays to win the game,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said.
“We wouldn’t have won the game without our free throw shooting today. We showed a lot of poise from the stripe.”
The Wildcats were paced by the 12 points of junior Kelenna Azubuika. Sophomore Bobby Perry and junior Patrick Sparks each added 10 points in the defeat.
Kansas (11-0, 1-0) will return to Big 12 action Wednesday night when the Jayhawks travel to Ames, Iowa, to face Iowa State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
