University of Missouri
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#6 Kansas
Tigers Fall To Jayhawks, 73-61
1/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Wayne Simien had 22 points and Aaron Miles had 14 points and 10 assists, rallying third-ranked Kansas to a 73-61 victory over Missouri on Monday night.
Missouri (10-11, 2-6 Big 12) was a 19-point underdog and fell quickly behind by 10 points before going on a 20-4 run and seizing a stunning 36-28 halftime lead over the Big 12 leaders.
But after shooting just 36 percent in the first half, the Jayhawks (17-1, 7-0) hit 70 percent of their shots in the first 15 minutes, 30 seconds of the second half. A 3-pointer from J.R. Giddens made it 57-54 and gave Kansas the lead for good.
Miles, the Big 12's career assists leader, executed two picture-perfect one-handed lobs for layups by Christian Moody and Giddens during a 7-1 run that put Kansas on top 66-55 lead.
Embattled Missouri coach Quin Snyder, who got the job six years ago over Bill Self when the Kansas coach was at Tulsa, fell to 3-10 against Kansas and 0-7 against Self. The Tigers have lost six of their last seven and are winless at Kansas since 1999.
Giddens had 15 points and Keith Langford had 11 for Kansas. Jason Conley had a season-high 20 points for Missouri and Linas Kleiza, before fouling out and then adding a technical foul for arguing, had 11.
Miles' 3-pointer put Kansas on top 24-16 and the capacity crowd settled in for an enjoyable romp, but the Jayhawks made only four points in the last 6:48 before intermission.
Kleiza, Missouri's leading scorer and rebounder who was held out of the starting lineup for the second straight game, muscled inside for a bucket to launch a spree that included seven points by Conley and Thomas Gardner's three-point play that gave the Tigers the lead at 26-25.
Conley's steal and driving bucket put Missouri ahead 41-30 the first few minutes of the second half, but Miles connected on two 3-pointers in Kansas' 18-6 run where every point was scored by starting seniors Miles, Simien and Langford.
With one regular-season game against the Tigers to go, the seniors are 8-1 against their most hated rivals.
DOUG TUCKER
AP Sports Writer
