Jayhawks hold off Oklahoma
LAWRENCE, KAN.» Frank Mason III scored 23 points in his final game at Allen Fieldhouse, Devonte Graham hit a series of crucial 3-pointers in the second half and top-ranked Kansas rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Oklahoma 73-63 on Monday night.
Graham finished with 16 points and Josh Jackson had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Big 12 champion Jayhawks (27-3, 15-2), who trailed 54-42 before finishing the game on a 31-11 run.
The Sooners (10-19, 4-13) were poised to spring a big upset on the day the Jayhawks ascended to No. 1 for the first time this season. But after they took their biggest lead with just over 10 minutes to go, Mason got the comeback started with a nifty basket inside.
He added a steal moments later to set up Lagerald Vick’s 3-pointer, and Jackson scored before Graham hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc. And when Mason added another basket moments later, the Jayhawks had put together a 17-2 charge that gave them a 64-58 lead with about 5 minutes left.
Kansas slowly drew away to make senior night memorable for Mason, big man Landen Lucas and reserve guard Tyler Self.
MONDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
Johnathan Motley scored 19 of his 23 points after halftime and 11th-ranked Baylor won its home finale 71-62 over 10thranked West Virginia. The Bears (24-6, 11-6 Big 12) avenged a 21-point loss at West Virginia on Jan. 10, which came after Baylor had won its first 15 games and reached No. 1 in The Associated Press top 25 for the first time in school history. … Kyle Guy scored 17 points, London Perrantes had 13 and No. 23 Virginia used a small lineup to neutralize No. 5 North Carolina’s size in a 53-43 victory. Guy connected on five 3-pointers for Virginia and Perrantes hit three, continuing to emerge from a shooting slump that contributed greatly to a four-game skid for the Cavaliers.