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Cochran helps Davidson upset No. 12 Kansas

Dec 20, 2011 - 6:15 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Nik Cochran dropped 21 points, including four three-pointers, leading the Davidson Wildcats to an 80-74 upset of No. 12 Kansas on Monday night.

J.P. Kuhlman scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds to go with four assists, while De'Mon Brooks and Jake Cohen netted 13 and 12 points, respectively for the Wildcats (7-3), who snapped their two-game losing streak.

Thomas Robinson led the Jayhawks (7-3) with 21 points to go with 17 rebounds, while Tyshawn Taylor scored 15 points and dished out seven assists. Elijah Johnson ended his day with 15 points and six assists for Kansas, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

"I thought that we had a good-spirited workout today and had a pretty decent practice yesterday, so I thought we would be somewhat ready to play. But we weren't and they were," Kansas head coach Bill Self said. "In the second half, they played perfect and it is unbelievable how well you can do if you don't turn the ball over."

Trailing by two, a free throw by Travis Releford with just over five minutes to go drew Kansas within 57-56, but Kuhlman responded with a three-pointer for the Wildcats to make it 60-56.

Taylor sank a pair of free throws with 2:07 to play to make it a three-point game, 68-65, but Davidson came up with an answer -- scoring the next five points to go up 73-65 thanks to a trey from Cochran and two from the line by Kuhlman.

Davidson sank its free throws down the stretch to hold on for the victory.

The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead less than six minutes into the game, but Kansas responded with six straight points to tie the game with 13 minutes to go in the opening half.

Later on, a three-pointer by Chris Czerapowicz put Davidson ahead 26-15 with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half to cap an 11-2 burst. But the Jayhawks answered with a 13-0 run over the next four-plus minutes of game time to take a 28-26 lead after a Conner Teahan shot from beyond the arc.

Davidson held a slim 33-32 lead at the break.

The Wildcats sank the first two buckets of the second half to take a 38-32 lead, but Kansas fought back to tie it at 38 with less than three minutes gone in the period on a Johnson slam.

It stayed a one-possession game for the next six-plus minutes until a three- pointer by Cochran with 11:25 to play put Davidson ahead by five, 53-48.

"The game of basketball is like a boxing match. You have to be in the center ring and fight going forward," Davidson head coach Bob McKillop said. "I thought we came out in the second half and scored two baskets, which at least put us in the center ring for the rest of the half."

Game Notes

Monday marked just the second meeting between the two programs. The first meeting occurred in the Elite Eight of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, in which Kansas took a 59-57 win...Davidson shot 41 percent from the floor and 33 percent from beyond the arc, while Kansas shot 40 percent from the floor and 26 percent from three-point range...The Wildcats turned 14 Kansas turnovers into 16 points.