Aggies come oh, so close but lose to No. 2 Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dedric Lawson’s second-half performance was invaluable for No. 2 Kansas.
Lawson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and scored Kansas’ final 14 points as the undefeated Jayhawks got past New Mexico State 63-60 in the Jayhawk Shootout on Saturday night.
The Jayhawks’ offense stalled after a hot start in their first game without injured center Udoka Azubuike, going scoreless for over five minutes in the first half. Lawson, their offensive anchor, had just two points at halftime, but scored 18 in the second half as they put it together and escaped with a win.
“He didn’t get a lot done in the first half, and he’s better than that. But he did make some key plays late,” coach Bill Self said. “We don’t win the game, obviously, unless he made those plays.”
The Aggies (7-2), coming off a 100-65 rout of New Mexico on Tuesday in Las Cruces, were seeking their first win over a No. 2-ranked team in program history. NMSU is 0-7 against secondranked teams since 1949-50.
New Mexico State led 40-33 at the 15:30 mark of the second half, but made only 3 of 10 free throws and faded late.
“We had our opportunities, I thought, in the second half, talked about it in the locker room,” coach Chris Jans said. “We just couldn’t knock them out.”
The Jayhawks improved to 4-0 all-
time against the Aggies with the win.
Lawson wasn’t perfect, as he missed a free throw with 11 seconds left that would have made it a four-point game. New Mexico State then had the chance to tie, but JoJo Zamora’s attempt bounced off the rim.
Zamora led the Aggies with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Ivan Aurrecoechea added 14 points and six assists and Johnny McCants turned in a career-high 12 points.
At the end of the game, McCants was overcome with emotion, burying his face in his hands as he crouched down and was consoled by teammates.
“I’ve never had a game like this in my college career. My emotions just came out at the end of the game, because I felt like we had it,” said McCants, an Oñate alumnus.
Eli Chuha played 18 minutes and had two points for the Aggies. Chuha was the player seen on video taking a swing at New Mexico’s Corey Manigault on Tuesday as the teams skirmished while out on Lou Henson Court floor early, before pregame warmups.
Manigault was held out of action Friday by the Lobos in their loss to Saint Mary’s. Jans said that discipline for any Aggies involved would be handled internally.
Saturday in Kansas City, Lawson began to heat up when he tied the score with a layup with six minutes to go. He hit a 3-pointer — just his second of the season — with under four minutes left to open a 60-57 lead, and then hit three free throws in the last minute to seal the victory for Kansas (8-0).
New Mexico State next plays Dec. 17 at home vs. Northern Colorado.