LAWRENCE, Kan. -- After playing, and winning, two road games last week, the No. 2-ranked Kansas Jayhawks were eager to begin a two-game home stand against longtime conference foe Oklahoma on Tuesday night.
“I think playing in Allen Fieldhouse is a blessing. We’ll never take that for granted,” sophomore forward KJ Adams said before the Jayhawks claimed one of the hardest, most exciting home victories in recent memory, a one-for-the-ages 79-75 win over the Sooners.
It was KU’s 15th consecutive victory in Allen Fieldhouse overall and 22nd straight — yes, 22nd in a row — over the Sooners in KU’s 65-year-old building.
This win featured one of the great comebacks inside KU’s arena.
The Jayhawks trailed by 10 points — yes, 10 — with 5:18 left.
A 16-2 run — yes, 16-2 — erased the 71-61 deficit and gave KU a 77-73 lead with 13.8 seconds left. The game closed on an 18-4 run, giving KU the improbable win.
KJ Adams scored a career-high 22 points. Jalen Wilson added 17 and Dajuan Harris scored 11 for the Jayhawks, who improved to 15-1 overall and 4-0 in Big 12 Conference games. Zach Clemence contributed 10 points and Gradey Dick added eight for KU, which is 16-0 against Oklahoma in Allen Fieldhouse in the 20-year Bill Self era.
Grant Sherfield had 25 points for the Sooners, who fell to 10-6 overall and 1-3 in the league. Sam Godwin contributed 12 points as OU dropped to 7-53 all-time in KU’s tradition rich building. OU last won in Lawrence in the 1992-93 season.
Wilson, Dick and McCullar each made 1 of 5 shots the first half as KU led by just two points 36-34 at halftime. KU made 13 of 33 shots in the half for 39.4%. The surprise performer of the period was Clemence, who hit two threes and scored eight points.
KJ Adams had 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting while going 4-of-4 from the line in the first 20 minutes. He had fierce blocks of shots of Tanner Groves and Milos Uzan. Adams also caught a long pass from Harris and dropped it through the goal to give KU a 35-32 lead with 36.4 seconds to play.
OU’s Sherfield, who had 10 points in the first half on 5-of-9 shooting, hit a jumper to beat the halftime buzzer, slicing the deficit to 36-34.
In the second half, KU built a seven-point lead, 47-40, with 16:37 to play. KU’s Dick hit one of two free throws after a technical foul called on OU’s Sherfield, who trash talked to Kevin McCullar after scoring a bucket. Dick then was fouled and hit two free throws, which, with an ensuing Harris free throw, gave KU the seven-point lead. However, OU’s Jalen Hill and CJ Noland immediately answered and it was 47-44 KU at 15:16.
A critical juncture came with KU up four points at 48-44. Self was whistled for a technical foul for his reaction to a foul called on Adams on a shot by Hill. Sherfield hit two technical foul shots and Hill hit two free throws to erase the four-point KU lead and tie the score.
OU continued to surge and led 56-53 at 11:20. Later, in a one-point game, Sherfield hit a three followed by a Godwin free throw and it was 61-56 OU. It was 63-58 at 7:52 on two Sherfield free throws. Tanner Groves scored and OU led 65-58 at 7:06.
The Sooners stretched the lead to 10 points at 71-61 with 5:18 to play following buckets by Hill and Groves inside. At that point KU hadn’t had a field goal in 12 minutes and 41 seconds.
KU cut the deficit to five at 71-66 with 4:15 left following a dunk by Adams and three by Wilson. The Jayhawks cut the margin to three points with 3:31 to play. However. Harris missed an inside shot and OU answered with a bucket by Noland on a goaltend by Dick and it was 73-68.
Adams scored and KU lagged 73-70 at 1:45.
KU came all the way back and led 74-73 with 42.9 seconds left on a bucket by McCullar. He hit a free throw to make it 75-73 KU. Wilson made two free throws to give KU a four-point lead. OU cut it to two, but two Harris free throw at 12.9 seconds wrapped it up for KU, which went 31 of 39 from the line. KU won despite missing 21 inside shots.
KU will next meet Iowa State at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
