Collins carries Jayhawks past Bears

[February 04, 2010]  LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Sherron Collins had 28 points and hit his fifth 3-pointer with just over a minute left, helping No. 3 Kansas outlast No. 25 Baylor 81-75 Wednesday night.

Kansas (17-1, 3-0) used its depth to get Baylor's big front line in foul trouble and hit just enough shots down the stretch to eke out its 53rd straight win at Allen Fieldhouse. Collins got the Jayhawks started with two nifty assists and closed it out with a 3-pointer from the wing, combining with Marcus Morris to score 12 of Kansas' final 14 points.

Morris finished with 22 points.

Baylor (14-3, 2-2) gave Kansas its toughest test of the season at home, riding LaceDarius Dunn's 27 points to become the first team in 92 games to shoot more than 50 percent (52) against the Jayhawks. The Bears just couldn't come up with the stops down the stretch, extending their Big 12 road losing streak to eight games.

Tweety Carter added 17 points for Baylor, which had 20 turnovers.

Xavier Henry had 12 points and seven of Kansas' 15 steals.

Baylor had never won in eight previous trips to Phog Allen Fieldhouse, so coach Scott Drew tried the unique approach of taking his team off the court just before tip-off to avoid the Jayhawks' crowd-juicing video and player introductions.

It seemed to work.

The Bears never got rattled, answering just about every Kansas run with one of their own.

The teams were separated by no more than five points until Kansas went on a 14-2 run to go up 60-50. Baylor still wouldn't back down, using a 10-0 run -- capped by Anthony Jones' dunk over Cole Aldrich -- to tie it at 65-all with just over 3 minutes left.

Kansas went up four, but Dunn had an answer for that, too, weaving his way past three Jayhawks to drop in a short jumper.

Finally, Collins put an end to Baylor's upset bid, hitting a 3-pointer from the wing with just over a minute left, and Kansas closed it out from the free throw line to win for the 15th time in 17 games against Baylor.

Dunn almost pulled the Bears through.

Kansas coach Bill Self started Brady Morningstar over Tyshawn Taylor so he could chase Baylor's leading scorer. It was strength on strength, the Jayhawks' best perimeter defender against one of the most fearless shooters in the nation.

Dunn didn't care how close Morningstar was, uncorking his quick jumper chest-to-chest, on the run, even with Morningstar jabbing him in the face. He made three 3-pointers in the first 11 minutes, but Morningstar won his share of battles, stripping Dunn of the ball before he could go up three times in the same span.

Dunn hit all four of his 3-pointers in the first half for 12 points, playing the final 3:04 against Taylor.

Morningstar started the second half on Dunn, gave way to Taylor, then returned late to hold Dunn to one 3-pointer in the final 20 minutes.

[Associated Press; By JOHN MARSHALL]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.