Releford wills Kansas to victory
It took a 25-point performance from freshman guard Travis Releford and a missed buzzer shot to outlast the Carleton Ravens, 84-83.
By Case Keefer (Contact)
Saturday, August 30th, 2008
OTTAWA, ONTARIO — Kansas coach Bill Self learned a lot about his team tonight at Scotiabank Place.
He learned freshman guard Travis Releford was capable of taking over a game and scoring 25 points. He found out his young team didn’t mind playing in a hostile environment and withstanding a barrage of 15 three-pointers.
But most of all, Self learned the Jayhawks could claw out a victory in an 84-83 thriller against the Carleton Ravens.
“We played really well for basically the last 35 minutes of the game,” Self said. “I really didn’t know if our team could win this game coming in.”
He didn’t know if Kansas could win because Carleton is good – really good. The Ravens won the Canadian national championship five straight years before last season.
And the Jayhawks were playing without a full roster. Freshmen Marcus and Markieff Morris stayed in Lawrence because the NCAA hasn’t cleared them to play yet. Doctors only cleared junior guard Sherron Collins to play for 20 minutes because he’s still getting back in shape. Sophomore guard Brady Morningstar twisted his ankle at the end of the first half and didn’t come back in.
The Jayhawks just simply prevailed – not until the last second though. Carleton junior Michael Kenny had an open jumper as time expired. It clanked off the bottom of the right side of the glass.
“It’s a great day,” Self said. “It would have been the same if he made the shot, but I think it gives these guys a little confidence.”
Kansas certainly had to earn it. For 14 consecutive minutes of the second half, it was a one-possession game. Every time Kansas tried to pull away, Carleton made a three-pointer. The Ravens went 15-for-25 from beyond the arc.
With one minute remaining, Kansas took its biggest lead of the game. Collins picked off a Raven pass and tossed it down to the other side of the court, where Releford laid it in to make the score 84-80.
Releford scored the majority of his 25 points off of fast breaks. He also hit two three-pointers and went 10-for-11 from the field. Self said Kansas would have lost without Releford and he was the best player on the floor.
“I wouldn’t miss,” Releford said. “It was just one of those games.”
It wasn’t over when Releford put Kansas up four, though. Not against this team. Kenny responded less than 20 seconds later and hit a three to cut it to a one-point game.
Collins attempted two shots the next trip down the court and the Ravens grabbed a rebound and called timeout. They had exactly two seconds to win the game. That’s when Kenny’s shot missed.
“We were fortunate to win,” sophomore center Cole Aldrich said. “They gave us a hell of a game.”
The 7,189 people in attendance at Scotiabank Place, home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, weren’t fond of the Jayhawks. They heckled Self and the players and gave Carleton a noticeable advantage. But they couldn’t help but gasp at some of Aldrich’s plays.
To open the game, Aldrich threw down an alley-oop from sophomore guard Tyrel Reed. Aldrich added another monstrous dunk under the basket in the first half and a steal at the top of the key, where he broke away for a goal-shaking jam. He finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
Collins ended up playing 22 minutes, two more than he was supposed to. He scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds. Collins said he felt fine after the game and deemed the trip a success.
Although Kansas will play the University of Ottawa tomorrow at 6:00 in its final game of the trip, Collins will not participate. He will rest along with Morningstar.
“That’s going to be a really hard game for us because we played two today,” Self said. “And we’re beat up.”
Self wasn’t the only one who discovered things about his team tonight. Aldrich, whom Self has labeled as the early leader of the Jayhawks, said he was impressed by his teammate’s resiliency in the battle.
“We’ve got a lot of heart,” Aldrich said. “We’re fighting through things. That’s one thing every team wants.”
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