Box Score THE RUNDOWN
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Kelly Oubre scored 18 points, including a clinching 3-pointer in the final minutes, and eighth-ranked Kansas overcame a slow start to beat No. 16 Baylor 74-64 on Saturday.
Junior forward Perry Ellis also had 18 points to join the 1,000-point for his career, and Wayne Selden Jr. finished with 15 points as the Jayhawks (21-4, 10-2 Big 12) dug out of a 13-point first-half hole to remain perfect in 13 matchups with the Bears (18-7, 6-6) in Lawrence.
Kansas was clinging to a 57-55 lead after the Bears' Rico Gathers made two foul shots with about 6 minutes left. But Ellis scored a couple of baskets around a midrange jumper from Landen Lucas, who had nine points off the bench, and the Jayhawks began to pull away.
Oubre's 3 from the top of the key, his fourth of the game, made it 67-59 with 1:59 left.
The win was the Jayhawks' 21st straight at Allen Fieldhouse, and ensures the 10-time champs would have no worse than a two-game lead in the conference race with six games to go.
Gathers led the Bears with 20 points and nine rebounds, despite playing the final stretch with four fouls. Kenny Chery followed up his 25-point performance in the teams' first meeting in Waco with 17 points, and Taurean Prince had 14 points off the bench.
Despite their long losing streak in Lawrence, the Bears looked unperturbed early on by the roaring sellout crowd stuffed inside Allen Fieldhouse. They launched an 18-6 run to open the game, beat Kansas to every loose ball and at one point had a 12-2 edge on the glass.
Kansas, the best 3-point shooting team in the Big 12, rallied back thanks to three straight long-range jumpers - perhaps to the chagrin of coach Bill Self, who called a period of hot outside shooting by his team ''fools gold'' after a recent victory.
Baylor's lead had been trimmed to 33-27 by halftime.
The Jayhawks kept up the pressure early in the second half, scoring right away on an alley-oop dunk by Wayne Selden. They finally took the lead for the first time when Oubre followed up his own missed 3 with a bucket at the rim to make it 36-35 with 17:13 remaining.
Baylor regained the lead a few minutes later, and it was 49-45 after Chery hit a 3-pointer with 9:41 to go. But the Jayhawks put together a 10-0 spurt of the next few minutes, and Brannen Greene's 3-pointer to cap the run gave Kansas a 55-49 advantage.
The Jayhawks never trailed the rest of the way.
HIGHLIGHTS
? Baylor had a halftime lead at Kansas for the first time in 13 trips to Lawrence - the Bears were tied at 30-30 in 2010 and trailed at the half in the 11 other games in Lawrence.
Baylor led for 28:10 of game time and trailed for just 11:25.
? Baylor snapped a 5-game streak of losing 2nd-chance points - that streak followed the first 19 games of the season when the Bears won or tied 2nd-chance points.
? Taurean Prince (14 points) had his team-leading 19th double-figure scoring game of the season and has now scored 10+ in a career-high 9 straight games.
? Rico Gathers (18 points) scored in double figures in a career-best 4th straight game, 14th time this season and 28th in his career.
? Gathers (8 rebounds) failed to reach double-figure rebounds for just the 5th time in 25 games this season.
? Kenny Chery (17 points) had his 11th double-figure scoring game of the season, 33rd career. He's scored in double figures in 9 of 12 Big 12 games this season.
? Chery tied a career-high with 5 made 3-pointers - it's the 3rd time he's reached that mark. He attempted a career-high 10 treys.
? Royce O'Neale had 9 rebounds, his most in a game since posting 14 vs. SFA on Nov. 24.
? O'Neale also had a team-high 6 assists with 0 turnovers. It was his 6th time this season with 5+ assists, 12th of his career.
STAT OF THE GAME
19-7: Advantage in second-chance points for Baylor.
TWEET OF THE GAME
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor heads to Lubbock, Texas, to face Texas Tech Tuesday (Feb. 17) at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
