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Ellis, Jayhawks hold off TCU

Feb 22, 2015 - 12:07 AM Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Perry Ellis scored 23 points thanks to 9- of-10 shooting, and grabbed seven rebounds to help No. 8 Kansas top TCU, 81-72, on Saturday.

The Jayhawks (22-5, 11-3 Big 12) also got a career-high 20 points on 7-of-7 shooting from Devonte' Graham, while Frank Mason III added 14 points and five assists.

Trey Zeigler scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half for the Horned Frogs (16-11, 3-11), but their comeback fell short. Kyan Anderson chipped in with 14 points and seven assists.

Kansas appeared poised to run away with the game with a 7-0 run after the midpoint of the second half. Mason connected with Ellis on an alley-oop, and on the ensuing possession, Ellis swiped the ball and went coast-to-coast before finishing with an emphatic slam to fire up the home fans and give Kansas a 66-50 lead with 6:35 remaining.

The Horned Frogs, though, battled and responded with the next nine points. Kenrich Williams had a dunk of his own at the other end of the floor, and Zeigler capped the run with a jumper to cut TCU's deficit to seven points with 4:35 to play.

Zeigler did not get much support in the closing minutes. That basket started a stretch in which he scored nine of 11 Horned Frogs points, and they never got closer than six.

TCU took advantage of a sloppy start from Kansas. It scored six points off four Jayhawks turnovers in the first five minutes and took an 8-4 lead on Chris Washburn's fastbreak dunk.

Kansas led 35-29 at the break after a back-and-forth half. There were nine ties and seven lead changes, but the Jayhawks got in a rhythm late. They made five consecutive shots, including a pair of 3s from Graham on back-to-back possessions.

Game Notes

In two meetings against TCU, Graham shot a combined 10-of-10 ... In the final minute, Chris Huey became the first student-manager to suit up for Kansas under Bill Self and missed a layup ... Jayhawks frehsman Kelly Oubre Jr. was held without a point on 0-of-3 shooting in 19 minutes ... Kansas hosts rival Kansas State on Monday while TCU hosts Texas Tech on Wednesday.