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Jayhawks one win away from another Big 12 title

Mar 12, 2011 - 5:00 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - The Morris twins combined for 40 points and 21 rebounds, leading second-ranked Kansas to a 90-83 victory over upset-minded Colorado in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

Markieff and Marcus Morris both finished with 20 points, while Marcus pulled down 13 rebounds.

Tyrel Reed knocked down 3-of-6 three-pointers and finished with 15 points for the Jayhawks (31-2), who advanced to the title game for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

Kansas won the tourney in its last four title game appearances, and will go for another crown Saturday against Texas.

Alec Burks ended with 23 points and six assists to lead the Buffaloes (21-13), who had upended Kansas State in the quarterfinals.

Kansas was coming off a 63-62 victory against Oklahoma State, and needed to battle back from an early deficit.

Colorado jumped out to an 11-2 lead thanks to three-pointers from Nate Tomlinson and Marcus Relphorde. Later, Burks had two buckets to end a 9-0 burst that expanded the Buffs' advantage to 22-10.

But Marcus Morris scored the game's next seven points to keep the Jayhawks close, sparking a more expansive 19-4 run. Brady Morningstar capped the rally with a layup, giving Kansas a 29-26 edge with seven minutes left.

Colorado moved back in front, but consecutive threes from Mario Little and Reed had the Jayhawks up 39-34.

They led by a 43-37 margin at the break and pulled away shortly into the second half. A 12-0 run, capped by a Markieff Morris layup, made it a 59-42 contest with a little more than 15 minutes to play.

"We just kind of hunkered down and defended," Reed said of his team's turnaround. "I think we did a lot better job of keeping the ball in front of us. And by getting stops, that gives us confidence on the offensive end as well."

Kansas led by double digits until an Andre Roberson dunk pulled the Buffs within 74-65 with 7:11 remaining. But Kansas scored enough down the stretch to keep Colorado at bay, never allowing the Buffs to get their deficit down to one or two possessions with enough time remaining to threaten the outcome.

A Burks three-point play had Colorado within 86-80 with half a minute left, but each Morris twin made a pair of free throws to secure the victory.

Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said he was proud of the way his team fought to come back in the second half, but the loss still left his team short of its goal.

"We're not happy with the result," Boyle said. "We came here to win this tournament, and I know these guys in the locker room are disappointed, and we'll never be happy with this result."

Game Notes

Tyshawn Taylor scored 15 points for Kansas...Both teams shot 49 percent, but Kansas made 29-of-33 free throws compared to 11-of-18 for Colorado...Levi Knutson netted 17 for the Buffs, who were looking to advance to their first Big 12 tourney final.