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Aldrich emerges inside as Kansas tops Washington

Nov 25, 2008 - 7:12 AM KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- While Washington boasted one of the top post players in the nation, it was Cole Aldrich that dominated the lane on Monday.

Aldrich scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds as No. 23 Kansas advanced to the final of the CBE Classic with Monday's 73-54 victory over Washington.

It was a breakout game of the 6-11 sophomore, who will be counted on heavily this campaign by the Jayhawks after losing all five starters from last season's national championship squad.

However, Aldrich was not expected to come up big in this matchup, as the Huskies are led by 6-7 banger Jon Brockman.

Brockman entered his senior season among the top 50 preseason candidates for the Wooden Award after averaging 17.8 points and 11.6 rebounds for a 16-17 Washington squad last year.

Still it was the younger Aldrich that controlled the play in the paint, shooting 6-of-12 from the field, pulling down four offensive boards and blocking a career-high six shots.

Overall, Kansas had 10 blocks, tying the high for all of last season.

Meanwhile, Brockman struggled, ending up with just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting. He did tie a career high with 18 rebounds, but more than a handful came on his own misses.

With eight points and seven rebounds by Aldrich, Kansas (3-0) built a 32-22 lead at the half.

The Jayhawks blew open the game shortly thereafter, using a 15-3 run early in the second half to take a 49-28 advantage with 11:25 to play.

Behind Aldrich, Kansas finished with a 40-16 advantage in points in the paint.

Sherron Collins had 18 points and handed out five assists and freshman Marcus Morris scored 13 for Kansas, which shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field.

The Jayhawks also got a strong effort from first-year player Tyshawn Taylor, who scored 10 points.

The Jayhawks will face Syracuse, an 89-83 winner over Florida, in Tuesday's title game.

Freshman Isaish Thomas led the way offensively for the Huskies (2-2), scoring 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting with three 3-pointers.

Washington finished 29 percent (19-of-65) from the floor in becoming Kansas' third straight opponent to be held under 56 points.