KJ Adams Jr. knocked down a short bank shot with 11.7 seconds left to give No. 2 Kansas a 62-60 win over No. 14 Iowa State in a Big 12 showdown on Saturday afternoon at Lawrence, Kan.
Gradey Dick made five 3-pointers while scoring 21 points as the Jayhawks (16-1, 5-0 Big 12) won their 10th consecutive game. Jalen Wilson contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Adams scored 15 points as Kansas took over sole possession of first place in the Big 12.
Gabe Kalscheur scored 23 points and Osun Osunniyi had 14 on 7-of-10 shooting before fouling out for the Cyclones (13-3, 4-1), who had a six-game winning streak halted.
In a tense contest, Wilson won a wild scramble for the ball and tossed in a short jumper to beat the shot clock to give the Jayhawks a 59-57 lead with 1:56 remaining.
Adams split two free throws with 1:03 left to give Kansas a three-point lead before Kalscheur drained a 3-pointer to tie it at 60 with 36.7 seconds to play.
The Jayhawks got the winning points on a play in which Adams received the ball on the right side of the lane and was able to shed the defensive coverage of Robert Jones to score the go-ahead basket.
Iowa State’s last shot came up empty as Caleb Grill launched a 25-foot 3-pointer that was off the mark with just over a second remaining.
Kansas shot 45.8 percent from the field, including 6-of-21 from 3-point range, while beating Iowa State for the seventh straight time.
The Cyclones connected on 38.3 percent of their shots and were 8-of-20 from behind the arc. Jones collected nine rebounds.
Adams dunked and then Dick drilled a 3-pointer to give the Jayhawks a 52-50 edge with 6:42 left.
Kalscheur responded with a trey to push Iowa State back ahead 53-52 with 6:11 left. Wilson connected on a jumper to give Kansas a 54-53 edge with 4:44 left.
After the Cyclones committed their fifth turnover in a span of six possessions, Kevin McCullar sank two free throws to give the Jayhawks a three-point lead with 4:07 to go.
Iowa State had better ball movement the next two possessions with Osunniyi scoring inside baskets on both to give the Cyclones a 57-56 lead with 3:05 left.
Wilson split two free throws to tie it with 2:50 remaining.
A layup by Adams as time expired in the first half gave Kansas a 29-28 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
