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Kansas tops Texas for key road win

Jan 24, 2015 - 11:41 PM Austin, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Cliff Alexander led four Jayhawks in double figures with 15 points and No. 11 Kansas played a clean second half to take down 17th-ranked Texas 75-62 for a key road victory that could help determine the Big 12 regular season.

Perry Ellis and Brannen Greene scored 14 points apiece and Frank Mason III had 12 for Kansas, which committed all three of its season-low three turnovers in the first half.

Alexander scored all of his points and grabbed all nine of his rebounds in the final 21:54 of the game.

"We worked the middle," he said. "That's what coach told us, 'Just get the ball to the middle, it's open every time.' That's what we did, just got the ball to the middle and got easy shots."

Kansas (16-3, 5-1 Big 12) has won two straight since dropping a road game against Iowa State.

The Jayhawks have won or held a share of a remarkable 10 straight Big 12 regular-season crowns, but many believed Texas had a chance to threaten that run this season.

Isaiah Taylor had 23 points to pace the Longhorns (14-5, 3-3), who have dropped three of their last five games.

"It did feel like we let just a couple (of possessions) get away from us," said Taylor. "They beat us to loose balls, they got in transition some, got offensive rebounds and just hit open shots. They came out and played man (defense) the second half and I mean, we tried to respond to it, but we couldn't respond fully."

Texas opened the game with an 11-2 run, but 3-pointers from Wayne Selden and Greene on consecutive possessions before the first media timeout had Kansas right back in the game. Mason assisted on both 3s.

Greene then scored five straight during a 9-0 run as Kansas climbed in front.

Cameron Ridley netted five in a row to tie the game at 28 late in the first half, but Alexander answered with a pair of dunks and Kansas led 32-30 at halftime.

Myles Turner hit a jumper 5 1/2 minutes into the second half, giving the Longhorns a 44-39 lead, but it quickly disappeared. Alexander threw down a jam on a feed from Perry Ellis, then kicked out to Selden for a 3 from the left wing. Greene followed with another triple, and the Jayhawks led by three.

It was 53-50 with seven minutes to play when Greene's well-contested 3-ball from the corner sparked a 9-2 burst that just about put the game out of reach.

Kansas went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final two minutes to seal it.

Game Notes

Kansas has won seven of the last eight games in the series ... Kansas' bench produced 31 points compared to just eight from the Texas reserves ... Texas went 3-for-18 from 3-point range ... Jonathan Holmes scored 14 points for UT ... The teams will meet again in Lawrence on Feb. 28.