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Kansas has little trouble with Miami of Ohio

Dec 22, 2007 - 9:56 PM LAWRENCE, Kansas (Ticker) -- For the second straight week, Kansas had little trouble against a Mid-American Conference team.

Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur each scored 14 points as the third-ranked Jayhawks trounced Miami of Ohio, 78-54, on Saturday.

The Jayhawks, who beat Ohio University, 88-51, last Saturday, are now 12-0 for the first time in three years.

Leading just 7-6 early on, Kansas took off on a 13-0 run to open a 20-6 advantage. Sherron Collins started the rally with a 3-pointer, while Jackson and Sasha Kaun each chipped in with three points during that stretch.

"From the first TV timeout it was 7-6 and the next thing you know it was 20-6," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "We played really well. That wasn't the ballgame there, but they're not the type of team offensively, although they made some shots late, to come from big deficits.

"I thought we played well, much like the Ohio game last Saturday. In the first half, we played pretty well on both ends."

The RedHawks (6-5), fresh off a 61-58 overtime victory at Illinois, momentarily stopped the roll by the Jayhawks with a 3-pointer from guard Michael Bramos. But Kansas closed out the half strong and took a 39-20 lead into the break.

The Jayhawks opened a 61-31 lead on a 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers and a layup from Collins with nine minutes left and cruised to the victory from there.

"That's a good win for us," Self said. "I was nervous about this game in large part because the guys are looking ahead to going home for Christmas and all those things, which I would be too, but they focused for two hours."

Miami entered the contest without allowing a team to score 70 points in 44 straight contests - the nation's longest active streak - dating back to a 73-58 loss to Ohio in a MAC tournament quarterfinal on March 9, 2006.

But the Jayhawks ended that streak with a layup by guard Brandon Rush with 3:44 remaining, giving Kansas a 70-44 lead.

"That had to go," Miami coach Charlie Coles said. "That was important once people started to say it. See when you have very little to hang your hat on, you find things to hang your hat on.

"I didn't even know about the streak until somebody told me about it at the end of last season. It was a streak that I didn't know about. I have had very few streaks so I will claim this one."

The Jayhawks' backcourt combination of Collins and Rush each scored 10 points. In addition to his 14 points, Arthur also added 10 rebounds. As a team Kansas shot 58 percent (33-for-57) from the field.

"I think we could have had more (than 78 points)," Self said. "It wasn't a fast game and we missed bunnies, but we did execute. It was a crisp offensive performance to be honest; 17 assists and only six turnovers.

"We did some good things. We made them look not as good as they are which is always a positive when you're at home."

The RedHawks were paced by forward Tim Pollitz and guard Kenny Hayes, who each scored 11 points. As a team, Miami shot just 40 percent (21-for-52) from the floor.

"We didn't have a chance to even come close to win the game," Pollitz said. "We just didn't execute what we were planning on doing.

"But that's not just our fault, it is a credit to Kansas because they are obviously a very good team."