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Freshman Collins comes up big as Kansas edges Missouri

Jan 16, 2007 - 5:08 AM LAWRENCE, Kansas (Ticker) -- Freshman Sherron Collins picked a great time for his best effort.

Collins scored 15 of his season-high 23 points in the second half as fifth-ranked Kansas rallied for an 80-77 victory over rival Missouri in a Big 12 Conference battle. With the Jayhawks holding a slim one-point edge, the 5-11 Collins drove in from the right wing and converted the decisive basket with 38 seconds left.

Missouri had a final chance, but Matt Lawrence's 3-point shot from the left wing fell short of the rim as time expired.

Collins, Kansas' reserve point guard, finished 8-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-7 on 3-pointers, in leading his squad to its 10th straight win at Allen Fieldhouse.

Although the Jayhawks' home court has been a house of horrors for most teams, the Tigers (11-6, 0-4 Big 12) were not intimidated by the harsh surroundings, turning a 58-50 deficit with just under 14 minutes remaining into a 65-60 lead with nine minutes to go.

Stefhon Hannah and Leo Lyons both contributed five points during the 15-2 run for the Missouri, which dropped its eighth straight appearance here.

Collins, who entered the contest averaging 7.7 points, led the charge back, hitting one of his four 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 65-64 with 6:28 left.

The Jayhawks (16-2, 3-0) took back the lead at 69-68 on a layup by freshman Darrell Arthur with 3:45 left, but did not grab a solid foothold until Collins hit a driving layup and knocked down his final shot from the arc on consecutive possessions, making it 76-72 with 1:43 to go.

The Tigers stayed close, cutting the deficit to 76-75 on a three-point play by Lawrence with 1:23 left, but Arthur completed another layup and Julian Wright blocked consecutive shots by Marshall Brown with 44 seconds remaining.

Brown, however, was fouled by Russell Robinson on the second blocked shot, making both free throws to cut Missouri's deficit to 78-77.

Brandon Rush scored 16 points and Wright added six points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Kansas.

Lawrence finished with 19 points, Hannah 15 and Kalen Grimes added 12 boards for Missouri, which lost despite holding a 43-42 edge in rebounding.