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Kansas eases past Belmont

Dec 16, 2012 - 4:09 AM Lawrence, KS (Sports Network) - Travis Releford and Ben McLemore each tallied 17 points and the No.9 Kansas Jayhawks routed Belmont, 89-60, on Saturday.

Releford also finished with five rebounds, four assists and three steals while McLemore connected on 4-of-5 from downtown to help Kansas (8-1) to its seventh straight victory.

Jeff Withey and Andrew White III contributed 14 and 15 points, respectively, and Elijah Johnson totaled seven points, nine assists and five rebounds in the win.

"I thought we played pretty good," said Jayhawks coach Bill Self. "Our defense was good. We shared the ball for the most part. In the first half we missed five or six layups so we would have shot a great percentage. I was pleased with our defensive effort and ball movement."

Trevor Noack scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting for the Bruins (7-3), who saw their brief two-game winning streak come to an end. They were forced into 17 turnovers for the game, which led to 27 points for the Jayhawks.

"I think everyone in our locker room is a little embarrassed," said Belmont coach Rick Byrd. "We are not embarrassed about the Belmont basketball program, but by the performance tonight and Kansas had a lot to do with that. We're just disappointed."

McLemore knocked down a triple midway through the first half to give the Jayhawks a 19-9 lead. Belmont came within six on a Reece Chamberlain layup with 6:02 to play in the opening frame, but Kansas countered with a 7-0 surge to build a 34-21 edge.

The Jayhawks then pushed their advantage to 44-28 by halftime and an 8-0 run in the second stanza saw their lead balloon to 28 at 65-37 following a McLemore 3-pointer.

Game Notes

Kansas has won 27 games in a row at Allen Fieldhouse and 60 straight against non-conference visitors ... This was just the second matchup between the schools. Kansas won the only previous matchup back in 2009, winning 81-51 ... Belmont never led in the contest.