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Arthur, Kansas turn around road struggles at Iowa State

Feb 28, 2008 - 3:55 AM AMES, Iowa (Ticker) -- Darrell Arthur's great start helped Kansas turn around its road slump.

Arthur scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half as the seventh-ranked Jayhawks snapped a two-game losing streak on the road with a 75-64 victory at Iowa State in the Big 12 Conference on Wednesday.

Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers scored 15 points apiece for Kansas (25-3, 10-3 Big 12), which claimed its first league road win since February 2, falling at Texas and Oklahoma State in the past two-plus weeks.

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks are 6-0 at home in the Big 12 following a 69-45 win over Colorado on February 16, enabling them to sit one game behind league-leading Texas (11-2), which beat Kansas State, 74-65, on Monday.

Hilton Coliseum proved to be a good spot for Kansas to get back on form on the road, as it won here for the sixth time in seven games.

"This is a tough place to play, and it feels good to get a win on the road," said Jayhawks guard Russell Robinson, who added five points, 10 rebounds and five assists. "Their crowd was really into it, and we did a good job bouncing back."

Behind Arthur, Kansas got off to a great start, taking a 15-point lead 11 1/2 minutes in and holding a 36-23 cushion at the half. The sophomore forward had two baskets within the first five minutes, and scored his team's final six points of the opening half.

"I thought for the most part, other than about seven minutes of the second half, we controlled the game," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "We were a better team tonight than how we played over the past couple of weeks. I think it's very important to get off to a big start when you're playing on the road in this conference."

Along with Arthur, Chalmers had 10 of his points before intermission, hitting two 3-pointers.

Although the Cyclones came out with the first seven points of the second half, Arthur connected on the Jayhawks' opening basket after intermission - a deep jumper - with just under two minutes expired, starting a 13-2 run that made it 49-32 with 13:45 remaining.

"I'm proud of the way we started the second half," Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said. "They came out of the timeout and Arthur knocks down a shot. That was the play of the game for me. When the home team has all the momentum, and one of their big guys hits a (deep) shot, that just changes the game."

Arthur shot 9-of-18 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Iowa State, which has lost six of its last seven games, did close within 57-47 with 7:57 to play on the strength of a 12-0 run. However, Rush responded with a three-point play as part of his 12 second-half points.

Reserve Sasha Kaun scored eight points and Darnell Jackson added seven and eight rebounds off the bench for Kansas, which shot 47 percent (27-of-58) from the field and held a 43-30 advantage on the boards.

"I think they are the most complete team in the country," McDermott said. "A lot of it has to do with Sasha Kaun and Sherron Collins coming off the bench."

Wesley Johnson scored 22 points for the Cyclones (14-14, 4-9), who shot 37 percent (22-of-59) en route to failing to score more than 65 points for the 10th straight game.

Jiri Hubalek added 14 points and eight rebounds for Iowa State, which dropped its 10th straight game against a ranked opponent.

Johnson and Hubalek carried the load for the Cyclones early, combining for 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting in the first half. The rest of the team went 0-for-15 prior to intermission.