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Kansas wins 103-58

By Taylor Bern

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Kansas 103, Emporia State 58

Game Over

The Allen Fieldhouse crowd was a little thin compared to normal, but Kansas' play was still electric.

The Jayhawks out-rebounded the Hornets 41-21 and shot over 60 percent. Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins led the attack in the first half and relaxed on the bench for most of the second half.

The Morris twins put turnover and foul woes behind them and forward Quintrell Thomas had another solid game.

Kansas 83, Emporia State 48

7:37 left in the second half

Kansas' bench has continued the domination, opening up a 35 point lead.

The Jayhawks started the second half a little rusty, misfiring on five of their first six shots. However, a big Sherron Collins three-pointer broke KU out of its funk.

Since then, Kansas has continued its blistering pace of nearly 80 percent shooting.

Kansas 56, Emporia State 30

Halftime

Kansas turned on the jets after the second media timeout and it hasn't looked back since. The Jayhawks used a 19-1 run to open a large lead, and enter halftime with a 26-point advantage and all the momentum.

Cole Aldrich has missed only one shot and leads the team with eight rebounds and three blocks. Collins has been impressive, quietly scoring 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Collins is also a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

Other Jayahwks of note include Brady Morningstar and Marcus Morris, who have seven and six points, respectively. Morningstar and Collins each have three assists, while Tyshawn Taylor is leading the way with four.

Kansas 35, Emporia State 18

7:42 left in the first half

The Jayhawks have turned up the heat since the last media timeout, spurring forward with a 13-0 run. Cole Aldrich continues to lead Kansas with 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

Sherron Collins looks electric also with six points and solid defense.

Kansas 22, Emporia State 18

11:28 left in the first half

Kansas' stranglehold on the game has loosened considerably.

The Jayhawks opened up a 7-point lead and looked like they were a better to pull away to double digits, but the pesky Hornets wouldn't let it happen.

Emporia State drew closer with some decent defense and some easy points at the free throw line. Guard Jeremiah Box now has six points to lead the Hornets offensively.

Kansas 13, Emporia State 7

15:43 left in the first half

Cole Aldrich is dominating the game early on. The sophomore is 3-for-3 from the field with three rebounds and one block.

Aldrich looked great in the post, but he also pulled up from the top of the key to drill an 18-footer. Sophomore Tyrel Reed also continued his hot streak from beyond the arc with a trey from the same spot where he hit three just a week ago.

Reed missed another three-pointer from the corner, but Aldrich was there to clean it up and put it in.

7:05 p.m.

A couple of notes about Emporia St. coach David Moe:

Moe was a graduate assistant at the University of Kansas for the 1987-88 season, which happens to be Kansas' last title season before last year.

Also, Moe's 10-year-old daughter Lyndi brought the house down with her performance of the national anthem. Lyndi also sang the national anthem two years ago when the Hornets last traveled to Allen Fieldhouse.

Well, on to the game.

6:35 p.m.

Tonight is Kansas' final tune-up before the regular season begins on Sunday, and the Kansan is here to bring you all the news and notes from tonight's contest.

Last night, Emporia State played its first game of the year, an exhibition contest at Wichita State. The Hornets fell 71-58, which means tonight's score should be something like 92-70. The Jayhawks don't have a lot of great defenders yet, so Hornet guards Matt Boswell and Lamar Wilbern should be able to duplicate their combined 32 points from last night.

However, Emporia St. has no chance to slow down Kansas' offensive weapons for any significant stretches of the game. The important things for KU to work on tonight are staying out of foul trouble and better ball-control.

The final score probably won't mean too much, but Kansas' performance could be a key indicator as to how it starts its season.

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