• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

No. 13 Kansas pulls away to beat UNLV

Jan 5, 2015 - 1:07 AM Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Frank Mason III scored 18 points and No. 13 Kansas pulled away to beat upset-minded UNLV 76-61 on Sunday.

Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden Jr. added 16 points apiece and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 12 with 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks (11-2), who extended their home winning streak to 16 games.

Christian Wood and Cody Doolin scored 12 points apiece to lead UNLV (9-5), which was coming off a 76-71 loss to Wyoming on Wednesday in its Mountain West Conference opener.

The Runnin' Rebels held Kansas under 33 percent shooting in the first half to lead 33-29 at the break, but weren't able to pull off another big upset.

They toppled then-No. 3 Arizona 71-67 on Dec. 23 to end the Wildcats' 39-game winning streak against non-conference opponents in the regular season, which was the longest active run in Division I men's basketball.

Kansas, which has won 10 of its last 11, was playing for just the second time since losing to Temple by 25 points on Dec. 22 in Philadelphia.

The Jayhawks open Big 12 play on the road Wednesday against No. 22 Baylor.

"It's a good step going into conference play, but it doesn't have anything to do with the conference," Selden said of Sunday's win. "It's just a good step in the right direction and we just have to build off of it."

The Jayhawks didn't take the lead for good against until a 9-0 run that began with about 11 1/2 minutes remaining in the second half.

Mason scored seven during the flurry, including the last five to give Kansas a 58-51 advantage with 9:11 left.

UNLV ended a three-minute field goal drought on Jelan Kendrick's layup with 8 1/2 minutes remaining, which cut the deficit to five.

But that was as close as the Rebels got. They scored just 10 points in the last 11:36 as Kansas ended the game on an extended 27-10 run.

"A lot of credit goes to them," Doolin said. "They are a very good defensive basketball team. I thought coming into the second half their pressure affected us a little bit as far as them denying us on the wing. We just have to be a little stronger and tougher, but I was very pleased with our effort in the first 32 minutes or so."

Game Notes

Kansas is 5-0 in the all-time series. The teams met for the first time since the second round of the NCAA Tournament, when the Jayhawks beat the Rebels on the way to winning the national title ... UNLV hosts conference foe Nevada on Wednesday.