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McLemore leads Kansas in rout of West Virginia

Mar 3, 2013 - 12:24 AM Lawrence, KS (Sports Network) - Ben McLemore scored a career-high 36 points and the sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks dominated the West Virginia Mountaineers, 91-65.

McLemore knocked down 12-of-15 field goals and made five 3-pointers while recording the top scoring performance by a freshman in Kansas history.

Jeff Withey added 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks for the Jayhawks (25-4, 13-3 Big 12), who came into Saturday's action tied with Kansas State for first in the league standings. Kansas State plays later Saturday at Baylor.

Elijah Johnson tallied 12 points and 10 assists for Kansas, which has won six in a row.

"I just want to thank my teammates, especially Elijah for creating things for me and helping me get my shots open," McLemore said. "Elijah is a great player because he can see when I get on a role and he wants to keep feeding me."

Terry Henderson ended with 20 points for the Mountaineers (13-16, 6-10), who have lost four in a row. Dominique Rutledge recorded a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Trailing by three, 20-17, midway through the first half, Kansas went on an 18-5 run. McLemore tallied nine points during the surge to help give the Jayhawks a 35-25 lead.

Kansas started to pull away at the end of the half, ending the period with a 10-2 flurry. Naadir Tharpe's 3-pointer made it a 45-31 game at the break.

Holding a 51-41 lead with about 16 minutes to play, the Jayhawks put the game away with a 21-2 run. McLemore tallied 10 points during the burst to make it 72-43.

"I don't want to say it but everyone saw how we responded to them (Kansas) making shots. We simply just didn't have the same energy that they did. That's all," Henderson said.

Game Notes

Kansas beat West Virginia by a 61-56 margin on Jan. 28 ... The Jayhawks shot 56.7 percent from the field and went 11-of-18 from beyond the arc ... McLemore also pulled down seven rebounds.