The Kansas Jayhawks had their hottest shooting night of the young season against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, en route to an easy 112-75 victory in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas shot 40-66 on the night for a 60.6% from the field, and had 29 assists to make the victory that much more impressive. Kansas improves to 5-0, while Tennessee Tech drops to 3-4 on the year. The breakout performer and star of the night was Tyshawn Taylor, who scored a team high 18 points on the game.
Taylor came out of s shooting funk that has lasted all season thus far, and scored a team high 13 points in the first half. Taylor finished the night hitting seven of nine shots from the field, including three of four from three-point range as he recorded double-figure points for the first time this year. His previous scoring best this year was eight against Hofstra in the season opener
Kansas started hot out of the gates against the Golden Eagles, jumping to an early18-9 lead, KU then went on a 9-0 run to lead 27-9. Tennessee Tech responded immediately with a run of eight straight points, causing KU head coach Bill Self to call timeout and substitute five new players onto the court. On his next possession, KU scored when Connor Teahan put in a reverse layup to push the lead back to 29-17. The visitors would not go away pulling within 34-26, but Aldrich’s follow dunk and an alley-oop pass and dunk from Collins to Henry sparked the Jayhawks for the rest of the half. KU closed the first stanza by scoring 11 straight points en route to a 53-31 advantage at the break.
Kansas was never threatened in the second half, as 13 different players saw action, including sophomore walkon Jordan Juenemann, who made the first two baskets of his career, including a three-pointer en route to six points in just two minutes of play. Kansas outscored the Golden Eagles 59-44 in the second half and shot 70% on 21-30 from the field.
Taylor finished the night hitting seven of nine shots from the field, including three of four from three-point range as he recorded double-figure points for the first time this year. His previous scoring best this year was eight against Hofstra in the season opener.
Four other Jayhawks scored in double-figures, including Xavier Henry, who had 15 points, five assists and four steals in 22 minutes and Cole Aldrich, who recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. KU’s other double-figure scorers included Sherron Collins, who scored 12 points, and Markeiff Morris, who put in 11 points off the bench, hitting all four of his field goal attempts, including two three-pointers.
The other freshmen also had nice games against the Golden Eagles. Thomas Robins had 9 points on 3-6 shooting and pulled down 4 rebounds and blocked 4 shots in 18 mintues of action. Elijah Johnson had 4 points and 4 assists in only 13 minutes of play, while CJ Henry 3 points and 2 assists in 10 minutes of action.
The Golden Eagles were led by Frank Davis, who scored 23 points. Zach Bailey added 16, while Byron Pickens chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds. Tech hit just 39 percent of its shots, but made six of 11 threes and 15 of 19 free throws to record an opponent season high against Kansas.
Kansas will return to action hosting Alcorn State on Wednesday, Dec. 2 in Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m and the game is due to be televised on the Jayhawk Television Network.
