SOUTH REGIONAL

Jayhawks swat pesky Colonels

ST. LOUIS - Bill Self gathered his team around the bench late in Friday’s game against Eastern Kentucky, one that had grown a bit too close for comfort for the second-seeded Jayhawks.

His team had gone back to chucking up jumpers, the scrappy Ohio Valley Conference champions had regained the lead, and thoughts of Mercer’s upset of Duke earlier in the day were on everyone’s mind.

“I thought we responded as a group,” Self said.

The Jayhawks resumed pounding away inside out of the timeout, slowly took control down the stretch and pulled away for an 80-69 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Andrew Wiggins had 19 points for the Jayhawks (25-9), who will play No. 10 seed Stanford on Sunday in the South Regional. Jamari Traylor added 17 points and 14 rebounds, Perry Ellis had 14 points and 13 boards and Tarik Black finished with 12 points as Kansas dominated in the paint.

“Our main focus on the game was to get in there and pound them,” Traylor said.

Even without 7-footer Joel Embiid, who is out for the weekend with a back injury.

Glenn Cosey hit f ive three-pointers and had 17 points for the 15th-seeded Colonels (24-10), who have lost all eight of their NCAA tournament games. Tarius Johnson and Eric Stutz finished with 15 points apiece, but second-leading scorer Corey Walden was held to four points before fouling out.

“Corey is a very important part of our team,” Colonels Coach Jeff Neubauer said. “With that being said, that’s not an excuse. Kansas really played great.”

In the second half, perhaps. Certainly not in the first.

Like a swarm of gnats, the smaller guards of Eastern Kentucky made life miserable for the turnover-prone Jayhawks in the first 20 minutes. Kansas had more turnovers (10) by the midway point than field goal attempts (9), and at one juncture turned it over on six of eight possessions.

Most of those miscues turned into easy points at the other end.

The Colonels, buoyed by their trademark three-point shooting, raced out to a 23-14 lead, silencing a heavily pro-Jayhawks crowd and even making some fans out of New Mexico and Stanford folks.

“Our defense is focused on turning people over and being aggressive,” Stutz said. “In that first half, that’s what got us our lead.”

It wasn’t until the first of two rim-rattling dunks by Wiggins off alley-oop passes that Kansas showed some life. The second came during an8-0 flurry that gave the Big 12 champions a 28-27 lead with just over a minute to play, their first since the opening minute of the game.

The Jayhawks have grown accustomed to tussles with lower seeds, of course. Just last year, they trailed No. 16 seed Western Kentucky at halftime before pulling away down the stretch.

On Friday, rather than continue to pound away inside, where the Jayhawks were having so much success, they reverted to missing jump shots. The Colonels took advantage with a 10-0 run, and Self called a red-faced timeout rather than risk pulling out his hair.

“Just our mentality [changed],” Wiggins said. “We were tougher on the ball. We knew against the defense of this team, we had to make good decisions, great plays and throw it inside.”STANFORD 58, NEW MEXICO 53

Chasson Randle scored 23 points and No. 10 seed Stanford made an impression in its first NCAA appearance since 2008, leading almost start to finish in a victory over seventh-seeded New Mexico.

The Cardinal (22-12) built an early 16-point lead then held on after New Mexico rallied to tie it midway through the second half. They got four crucial free throws from reserve Robbie Lemons and Randle in the final half-minute after New Mexico had cut the deficit to two points. They will play Kansas on Sunday in the third round.

Cameron Bairstow had 24 points and eight rebounds but the Lobos (27-7) got off-days from their other top threats. Kendall Williams and Alex Kirk, who together average 30 points, combined for just six. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 77, VA. COMMONWEALTH 75, OT

SAN DIEGO - Desmond Haymon scored on an improbable four-point play with 3.6 seconds in regulation and hit a big three-pointer in overtime to lead No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin to a victory over fifth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth.

VCU (23-10) was firmly in control for most of the second half before SFA (32-2) rallied in the closing seconds.

Haymon hit one of the biggest - and most improbable - shots of what’s already been a wild March, knocking down a three-pointer and a free throw after being fouled by Jordan Burgess at the end of regulation.

Haymon hit another three-pointer to put SFA up with 2 minutes left, but VCU had a final shot after Thomas Walkup missed 1 of 2 free throws with 14 seconds left. JeQuan Lewis got an open three-pointer, but it went long and SFA snared the rebound.

Sports, Pages 22 on 03/22/2014

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