LAHAINA, Hawaii – In a nail-bitter from beginning to end, the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks fell to the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils 68-61, in the finals of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Wednesday night at the Lahaina Civic Center. Junior Thomas Robinson, who recorded his fifth-straight double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds, was named to the all-tournament team, the first Jayhawk to earn the honor since Drew Gooden do so in 2001.

The loss drops the Jayhawks to 3-2 on the season, while the Blue Devils move to 7-0.

The 40-minute thriller featured 16 lead changes, 12 ties and no leads of more than seven points for either team. The Jayhawks led for the majority of the opening 20-minutes. As was the case for the entire Maui tournament, the Jayhawks started the game on fire, shooting 50 percent from the field (11-of-22) and added 12 free throws to Duke’s two in the opening half. KU senior Tyshawn Taylor led Kansas with 17 points, including 13 at the break, while Robinson had eight of his 15 rebounds. KU 35-31 lead into the halftime locker room.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams battling for baskets on each possession. The Blue Devils quickly closed the gap in the early minutes of the second period, tying the game at 43 at the 15:57 mark. From there on in the lead changed hands 11 times with neither team getting a lead of more than two points over the suspenseful 12-minute stretch.

As nearly all the Duke-Kansas matchups have ended in the past, this game would come down to the wire as well. The Jayhawks, trailing 63-61 with 50 seconds remaining, needed to stop Duke for one more possession for a try to tie or take the lead. However with, 20 seconds remaining Duke guard Tyler Thornton heaved in a desperation three-pointer that would eventually seal the win for the Blue Devils.

With his 17 points, Taylor became the 54th player in school history to hit the 1,000-point mark. He now ranks 52nd on the all-time scoring charts with 1,013 career points.

Kansas junior center Jeff Withey was a force inside recording his first double-double of his career with 14 points and 10 rebounds, notching career-highs in both points and rebounds.

As a team, the Jayhawks shot 42 percent from the field, to Duke’s season-low 39.3 percent. KU also won the battle in the paint for the third-consecutive game, outrebounding the Blue Devils 35-29 and outscoring Duke in the paint 28-20.

– KU Media Relations –

LAHAINA, Hawaii – The Kansas Jayhawks were able to withstand a second half UCLA surge to defeat the Bruins 72-65 Tuesday night in the semifinals of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. The Jayhawks move on to play No. 6 Duke in the tournament finals Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. (CT).

The win pushes the Jayhawks to 3-1 on the season, while UCLA falls to 1-3.

Junior guard Elijah Johnson had a career night, leading all scorers with 23 points off of 8-of-13 shooting. This marked a career-high for the Las Vegas native, who tallied four rebounds, tying a career-high and added two steals to pace the Jayhawks.

Senior point guard Tyshawn Taylor added to KU’s back court play by chipping in 13 points of his own, as well as contributing six assists. Junior Thomas Robinson was once again a formidable presence in the post, collecting his fourth-straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The first half was nothing short of dominant for Kansas. The Jayhawks came out of the gates on fire, starting the contest on a 12-2 run within the first four minutes and eventually pushing their lead to 19, 43-24, with 1:06 remaining. KU shot a scorching 50 percent from the field including a 55.6 percent clip from behind the arc in the opening period.

Johnson was the first half star for Kansas, shooting 4-of-7 from the field, including a 3-for-4 mark from three-point range. Junior Jeff Withey and Robinson were the Jayhawk’s dominant force in the paint in the opening half, combining for 13 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and a block.

The KU defense also held the Bruins to just 27.3 percent shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes and didn’t allow a UCLA field goal until 13:38 remaining in the opening frame. The defensive effort helped the Jayhawks power their way to 17-point lead at the break, 43-26.

Just four minutes into the second half the Bruins caught fire, going on a 21-9 run in just eight minutes, cutting their deficit to 57-52 on a Jerime Anderson three-pointer with eight minutes to play. Both teams would trade baskets over the next suspenseful minutes with the KU lead never getting more than seven points.

The Bruins once again cut the game to five points with 4:33 left on the clock, 61-56, however the Jayhawks would end the game on 12-0 run, erasing any doubt of the final outcome.

The Kansas defense held the Bruins to 36 percent shooting from the field and forced 14 turnover, seven of them being steals. The offense had a hot shooting night, boasting a 51.1 percent shooting from the field and getting three players in double figures. The Jayhawks owned the battle of the boards, outrebounding UCLA 34-21.

Kansas will now move on to play Duke in the finals of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. Tip is set for 9 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on ESPN. Duke leads the series with Kansas, 6-2, with the last meeting on March 27, 2003, a 69-65 Kansas win in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

– KU Media Relations –

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Thomas Gipson scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Jamar Samuels added 12 points on 7-of-9 free-throw shooting to help Kansas State defeat Maryland-Eastern Shore 92-50 on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats (3-0) led just 36-29 at halftime after shooting 38 percent from the field, but they put the game out of reach in the first eight minutes of the second half with a 28-6 run.

The Hawks (1-4) kept it close early, with Percy Woods and Louis Bell combing to make 4 of 6 tries from 3-point range by midway through the first half. Maryland-Eastern Shore trailed just 25-23 with a little more than five minutes left before the break.

The Wildcats shot 18 for 23 from the free-throw line.
Rodney McGruder and Martavious Irving scored 11 points each for the Wildcats while Jordan Henriquez grabbed 10 rebounds.

LAHAINA, HAWAII – Led by junior forward Thomas Robinson’s eighth-career double-double, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Georgetown Hoyas 67-63 in the quarterfinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational Monday night. The Jayhawks will move on to play the UCLA Bruins Tuesday afternoon in the semifinals.

The win pushes the Jayhawks to 2-1 on the season, while the Hoyas also move to 2-1.

As was the trend for the entire contest, the pesky Hoyas would not go away. The Jayhawks would open up leads of six or more on five occasions, only to see GU cut into their lead each time. Kansas led for all but two minutes in the game with its biggest lead of nine coming with three minutes remaining in the first half.

Robinson, who tied a career-high with 20 points, led the Jayhawks from beginning to end. The Washington, D.C., native shot 7-for-14 from the floor, five of them ferocious dunks and also pulled down 12 rebounds to earn his third double-double of the season. Robinson also tied a career-high with six made free throws.

Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor was KU’s leader in the backcourt, scoring 16 points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from three point land, his night from behind the arc was a career-best. Taylor added three rebounds, a block and one steal in 33 minutes of play. Junior guard Travis Releford was the third Jayhawk to score in double figures with 10 points, including two clutch free throws with 15 seconds remaining.

The Jayhawks led by two, 37-35, at the intermission. A Justin Wesley ally-oop dunk with three minutes remaining in the opening frame would push the KU lead to nine points, 32-23. However, Georgetown fought back, hitting a trio of three pointers in the final two minutes to keep the score close as the teams headed into the locker rooms.

Robinson led the Jayhawks in the first half, scoring nine of his 20 points and pulling down eight of his 12 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Taylor also gave the Jayhawks a boost, scoring nine points and going 2-for-2 from behind the three point arc.

The Jayhawks owned the post in the first half, scoring 16 points in the paint to Georgetown’s eight and owning the battle of the boards, collecting 19 to 15 for the Hoyas. KU also put in seven fast-break points, while GU netted none in the first 20 minutes.

Next on the docket for the Jayhawks will be the UCLA Bruins at 8:30 p.m. (CST) Tuesday in the semifinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. UCLA leads the all-time series with Kansas 10-6 yet the Jayhawks have won the last two meetings in each of the last two seasons 73-61 on Dec. 6, 2009, in Los Angeles and 77-76 on Dec. 2, 2010, in Allen Fieldhouse.

– KU Media Relations –