No. 1 Kansas Pulls Away Late, Down California

Read more about Cal at California Golden Blogs, and more about Kansas at Rock Chalk Talk.

Lawrence, KS (Sports Network) - Sherron Collins finished with 17 points, hitting a key three-pointer down the stretch, as top-ranked Kansas pulled away to beat California, 84-69, at Allen Fieldhouse.

Marcus Morris ended with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Jayhawks (11-0), who improved their home winning streak to 49 games, longest in the nation. Tyshawn Taylor added 13 points, while Xavier Henry had 12 points and eight boards in the victory.

Patrick Christopher had 21 points, while Jamal Boykin ended with 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Golden Bears (6-4), who had won their last two. Cal led early in the second half and trailed by single digits until Kansas ended the game on a 16-6 run.

Jerome Randle and Theo Robertson had 16 and 13 points, respectively, in the loss.

Less than a minute into the second half, Boykin connected on a jumper, and Christopher then hit a jumper and a three to put Cal in front, 46-42.

Kansas followed with the next seven points to take the lead back, though the Bears stayed close down the stretch, Christopher got a jumper to fall with 7 1/2 minutes to play to get Cal within 68-63.

However, Morris countered with a layup to begin the Jayhawks’ run. After the teams missed their next few shots, Taylor fed a bounce pass to Morris for a fastbreak layup. After a Cal turnover, Collins buried a three in transition to make it a 75-63 game.

Christopher countered with a jumper for Cal, but Brady Morningstar and Taylor followed with baskets as Kansas held on for the win.

Cal jumped out to a 7-2 lead and held a small lead for much of the first half. Robertson’s jumper with under nine minutes left put the Bears on top 26-21, but Kansas scored the next seven to go in front.

It was back and forth the rest of the half, and Randle went 1-for-2 at the line to cap the opening 20 minutes, trimming Kansas’ lead to 40-39 at the break.

Kansas shot 55 percent but had 18 turnovers and made 11-of-17 from the foul line...Cal shot 39.1 percent, had 17 turnovers and was 13-of-18 on free throws...Kansas has won nine in a row in this series, holding a 15-3 lead overall.