Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) – Markieff Morris had 19 points and six rebounds to help top-ranked Kansas notch its first road win of the season, 73-61, over UCLA as part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
No. 1 Kansas 73, UCLA 61: Jayhawks Keep Bruins At Bay
Xavier Henry hit four three-pointers en route to 16 points and Sherron Collins scored 14 for Kansas (7-0), which had won five of its previous six games by 30 or more points.
Cole Aldrich grabbed 12 rebounds, blocked three shots and added seven points to the win.
Michael Roll produced 16 points and three steals and Nikola Dragovic posted 14 points and seven rebounds for UCLA (2-5), which suffered its fourth consecutive loss. Malcolm Lee added 12 points in the loss.
Trailing by seven to start the second half, UCLA inched to within four on an early layup from Roll. But the Bruins were down nine moments later following a Marcus Morris dunk and a Henry three-pointer four minutes in.
J’mison Morgan’s layup and a Dragovic three got the Bruins within 50-43 approaching the 12-minute mark.
Kansas continued to keep UCLA at a distance, though, as Markieff Morris’ layup with 9 1/2 minutes to play dropped for a 57-46 advantage. Henry followed that up with a three-pointer and a Marcus Morris tip-in with five minutes remaining made it 66-52.
Close to 1 1/2 minutes later Henry sank his final three for a 15-point lead and the Jayhawks went unchallenged from there.
Consecutive buckets from Markieff Morris sparked an early 8-0 spurt for a 15-6 edge and an Henry layup with 8:41 left had the Jayhawks out in front, 21-9.
Tyler Honeycutt’s layup with 3 1/2 minutes to go had the Bruins within 10 and Dragovic drove the lane for two, then buried a three around a Collins jumper to cut the deficit to seven, 35-28, at the half.
UCLA holds a 10-5 advantage over Kansas in the all-time series between the two teams with the Bruins winning the previous meeting by a 68-55 final in the 2007 NCAA Tournament…Tyshawn Taylor had eight points and four steals for Kansas. Marcus Morris secured nine boards with four points…Reeves Nelson scored nine points and had nine rebounds for UCLA.
- Via Sports Network
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