San Diego State 61, Kansas 57

[January 06, 2014]  LAWRENCE, Kan. — No. 19 San Diego State 61, No. 17 Kansas 57: Xavier Thames scored 16 points and Skylar Spencer scored a career-best 13 points to go with nine rebounds and six blocked shots as the visiting Aztecs ended the Jayhawks’ 68-game nonconference home winning streak.

Josh Davis had 10 points and 14 rebounds as San Diego State (12-1) led for nearly the entire game while winning its 11th consecutive contest. Thames hit four free throws in the final 8.3 seconds to seal it for the Aztecs, who held Kansas to 29.8 percent from the field and possessed a 51-39 rebounding edge.

Andrew Wiggins scored 14 points and Joel Embiid had 12 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots for Kansas (9-4), which lost a nonconference game at home for the first time since falling to Oral Roberts on Nov. 15, 2006. The Jayhawks had a chance to tie the contest at 57 with 11.9 seconds left but Perry Ellis missed the second of two free throws.

Kansas trailed 44-33 with nine minutes to play before using a 13-4 burst to move within two and later pulled within 57-55 on a 3-pointer by Frank Mason with under 1 1/2 minutes remaining. After Thames hit two with 8.3 seconds left to make it 59-56, Mason missed the first of two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to derail the comeback attempt.

The Jayhawks were just 6-of-29 from the field in the first half and their only lead was at 9-8. The Aztecs responded with a 13-4 surge and led 29-23 at the break and boosted their lead to 11 on a 3-pointer by Dwayne Polee II with under 14 minutes to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The teams combined for 21 blocked shots – 13 by the Jayhawks. … The double-double was the third of the season for Embiid. … San Diego State was holding opponents to 34.2 percent shooting prior to limiting Kansas to 17-of-57 shooting from the field.

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