Tigers lose at KU

By Sam Wilson

Published Feb. 5, 2008

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Down by 12 points at halftime, 45-33, the Tigers were in somewhat familiar territory Monday night at Kansas. The team had trailed by 10 at halftime Saturday against Kansas State and came back and won that game.

But Monday night’s game didn’t go the Tigers’ way, resulting in a 90-71 Kansas win in front of 16,300 at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas junior guard Brandon Rush had 19 points and six rebounds.

“We knew we had to go out there and just be more aggressive like we did Saturday,” sophomore guard Keon Lawrence said. “We didn’t come out aggressive. We just let them run their offense, and we started putting them on the free throw line again, so it caught up with us.”

At the center of the Tigers’ woes was the play inside. The Jayhawks won the rebounding battle, 48-25. Senior forward Darnell Jackson and freshman center Cole Aldrich each provided nine rebounds for Kansas.

“We were just slow to the ball,” Lawrence said. “They were going to get every rebound. They were always going over the rim, and it was like we were in mud. We were just stuck, slow to the ball, and they just really pounded us on the boards.”

The Jayhawks also had the blocked shots margin 7-3. The Tigers’ inside woes were not helped by junior forward DeMarre Carroll’s twisted ankle. With 15:59 remaining in the game, Carroll went down with the injury. He was able to return for some of the game but not at full strength. He contributed 8 points and three rebounds in the first half, but he only came up with 5 points and no rebounds in the second half.

Not only did the Tigers struggle inside, but also in 3-point shooting. The team was 0-10 from behind the arc, including five misses from junior guard Matt Lawrence.

“They made us take some rough shots,” Keon Lawrence said. “It was the first game where we didn’t hit a three in a game this season. So hands up to their defense.”

Despite the Tigers’ struggles, coach Mike Anderson gave some credit to the Jayhawks, who are currently ranked fourth in the Associated Press poll and have not lost this season at home.

“They came out, they established tempo, I think they used their size,” Anderson said.

Keon Lawrence did score a career-high 25 points in the game on 10-13 shooting from the field and 5-7 from the free-throw line. But he said that wasn’t any consolation for the loss.

“It definitely goes out the window,” he said. “I knew I was going to have to come and play, bring my A game with this team. The first time, I wasn’t aggressive or anything. So I knew I was going to have to try to keep my team in it.”

Before the game, Anderson reinstated senior forward Darryl Butterfield and senior guard Jason Horton. Horton played for eight minutes and got an assist and a steal. Butterfield had five minutes of playing time.

Next up for the Tigers is a home game Saturday against Texas A&M. Given the fact that his team has played three games since Wednesday, Anderson said he will not hold a practice Tuesday.

“We’ll take a day off,” he said. “One thing I can say about our guys is they never gave up. They gave out, but they never gave up.”