Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Marcus Morris scored 26 points to pace a balanced offensive attack, as Kansas survived a tough first-round test from a pesky Lehigh squad and emerged with a 90-74 win in the Midwest Region.
Top-Seeded Kansas Takes Care Of Business, 90-74
Morris also pulled down 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks (33-2), the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Sherron Collins finished with 18 points and six assists, Tyrel Reed drained four three-pointers to log 12 and Cole Aldrich totaled 11 points, eight boards and five blocks for Kansas, which also received 11 points from Xavier Henry.
The Jayhawks will face ninth-seeded Northern Iowa in the second round on Saturday.
C.J. McCollum had 26 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Mountain Hawks (22-11), the Patriot League champions. Zahir Carrington contributed 17 points, six boards and three blocks for Lehigh, which was making its fourth appearance in the tournament and first since 2004. The program remains in search of its first win at this event.
A 16 seed has never taken down the top seed, but Lehigh came out strong to give Kansas an early scare, grabbing a 12-4 lead on a Carrington jumper at the six-minute mark.
Morris knocked down a trey, igniting a 21-2 surge, but an undaunted Mountain Hawks squad registered 11 of the game’s next 12 points to pull within 26-25 with 2:50 to play in the opening frame.
Kansas pushed its advantage back to six at the break, then stretched the lead to 11 at 43-32 in the early stages of the second half. Lehigh whittled the deficit to 50-44 before the Jayhawks began to pull away and increase the margin to 21.
The lead ballooned to 81-60 on a Morris dunk with 4:43 left in regulation. Kansas led by no fewer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Tyshawn Taylor had six points and six steals for Kansas...Marquis Hall registered 10 points and five assists for Lehigh...The Jayhawks are making their 39th NCAA Tournament appearance and 21st in a row, the longest active streak in the nation...Kansas shot 64.9 percent in the second half...The Jayhawks outscored Lehigh 52-18 in the paint and held a 41-33 edge on the glass...The Mountain Hawks made 17-of-21 free throws.
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