Rock Chalked: Deacs dropped by Jayhawks 83-76
By Jordan Webster
Sports Editor

Revenge, sweet revenge.

The fifth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks achieved exactly that Dec. 4 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., sending the 22nd-ranked Demon Deacons to their second loss of the season, 83-76.

With the win, the Jayhawks avenge the 31-point drubbing handed to them by the Deacons last Dec. 7 at Joel Coliseum, the fourth-worst loss in Kansas history.

Five players scored in double figures for the Jayhawks, led by forward Nick Collison’s 16. The Deacs also placed five in double digits, led by senior forward Antwan Scott, who dropped 13.

Despite struggling early, the Deacons had multiple chances to steal a win from the Jayhawks, but could pull no closer than four in the second half. Kansas used a pressure man-to-man defense to start the first half, rendering the Demon Deacon offense completely ineffective. In the first five minutes, Kansas forced six Deacon turnovers and built a quick 10-point lead.

Kansas looked primed to pull away on multiple other occasions throughout the game, but the Deacons hung tough.

After the Jayhawks built the early 10-point advantage at 16-6, the Deacs rebounded, and a three from senior Craig Dawson sliced the lead in half just two minutes later.

Toward the end of the first half, a slam by the Jayhawks’ Wayne Simien gave KU a 28-15 lead, but Scott and junior guard Steve Lepore combined for nine points in an 11-2 Deacon run to cut the lead to 30-26 with three and a half minutes left before halftime.

Once again, though, Kansas would pull away, outscoring the Demon Deacons 11-4 before halftime to take a 41-30 lead to the locker room.

Multiple mental lapses by the Deacons did not help their cause.

On several occasions, Kansas raced down the floor for easy baskets following Deacon buckets, outhustling the Deacs for layups or dunks. Senior Ervin Murray missed a lay-in during the first half, and freshman Taron Downey botched a fast-break layup in the second half. Twice, freshman Vytas Danelius was outmaneuvered by Kansas post players, who rebounded missed free throws and converted second chances for easy baskets.

Luckily for the Deacs, Kansas shot pitifully from the foul line, making only 20 of 40 attempts, and keeping the Deacons in the game in the process.

The brightest spot for the Deacs was the play of Lepore. The sharp-shooting transfer from Northwestern had failed to find his stroke from behind the three-point line in the Deacs’ first six games, but hit a pair of threes on his way to scoring 12 points.

On the other side of the spectrum was senior forward Darius Songaila, the team’s leading scorer, who managed only 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting before fouling out, and junior forward Josh Howard, who was held scoreless until throwing down a dunk on a fast break with 4:30 left in the second half.

Songaila and Howard spent large portions of the first half on the bench in foul trouble, and were later joined by senior point guard Broderick Hicks, who was ineffective directing the Deacon attack.

The limited and suspect play of Songaila and Howard left the Deacs vulnerable on the boards, and Kansas outrebounded the Deacs 46-35, as both Collison and Simien grabbed 11. In last year’s win, the Deacons held a 17-rebound advantage.

Dawson and Hicks both matched Lepore, scoring 12 points on the evening. Howard, who poured in 21 points in the Deacons’ thrashing of Kansas last season, finished with nine.

In addition to Collison’s game-high 16 points, guard Jeff Boschee scored 15 for Kansas.
Guard Kirk Hinrich had 13, forward Drew Gooden had 11, and Simien had 10.