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  • No. 23 Jayhawks Hold Off the No. 15 Texas Tech Red Raiders to Win, 67-61

No. 23 Jayhawks Hold Off the No. 15 Texas Tech Red Raiders to Win, 67-61

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Basketball

Texas Tech sophomores Kevin McCullar and Terrence Shannon, Jr. hit a pair of 3-pointers to help cut a 12-point deficit to three in the final minute, but Kansas responded with Christian Braun hitting one of his own with 21 seconds remaining as the No. 23 Jayhawks held off a Red Raider rally for a 67-61 win on Saturday at the Allen Fieldhouse.

The No. 15 Red Raiders (14-7, 6-6 Big 12) have now lost two in a row and are 1-20 all-time in Lawrence, while the Jayhawks (17-7, 11-5 Big 12) won their fifth straight and completed the season sweep after also picking up a 58-57 win in Lubbock back on Dec. 17. Tech committed only nine turnovers, but were only able to force six from the Jayhawks who led 31-25 at halftime.

Marcus Santos-Silva and Kevin McCullar led the Red Raiders with 12 points each, while Mac McClung had 11 and Micah Peavy scored 10. Santos-Silva would also lead the team with eight rebounds, falling two rebounds shy of his third double-double. He had four offensive rebounds in the game and finished shooting 5-for-11 from the field for the Red Raiders who were 22-for-52 (42.3 percent). McCullar added seven rebounds and two assists, while McClung and Peavy had five points each. McClung hit two 3-pointers for Tech which was only 5-for-15 on 3-pointers in the game. Shannon finished the game with five points and two rebounds.

The Kansas starting lineup all scored in double figures in the game, led by 17 from David McCormack who was 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line. Jalen Wilson recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Braun's final 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining gave him 10 points for the game and KU the six-point lead. Oachai Agbaji added 14 points with a team-high three 3-pointers as the Jayhawks finished the game 8-for-26 from beyond the arc and 25-for-61 (41.0 percent) from the field.

UP NEXT: The Red Raiders have a quick turnaround where they will now play at Oklahoma State (14-6, 7-6 Big 12) at 8 p.m. on Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The ESPN Big Monday matchup is the second meeting between the teams this season with the Cowboys escaping with an 82-77 overtime win back on Jan. 2 in Lubbock. The Cowboys, who are 8-3 at home this season, did not play this weekend and are currently on a two-game winning streak following a pair of wins over Kansas State and Iowa State. Tech is 23-46 against OSU in the all-time series, 5-25 in Stillwater and 4-5 in the Beard era.