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Perry Ellis

No. 6 Kansas beats No. 10 West Virginia

AP

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Perry Ellis had 21 points, Landen Lucas pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds and No. 6 Kansas beat No. 10 West Virginia 75-65 on Tuesday night to forge a three-way tie atop the Big 12.

West Virginia Mountaineers forward Brandon Watkins (20) battles for a rebound with Kansas Jayhawks forward Landen Lucas (33) and forward Perry Ellis (34) in the first half at Allen Fieldhouse.

Frank Mason III added 14 points for the Jayhawks (20-4, 8-3), who handled the Mountaineers' pressure well in avenging a loss lost month in Morgantown that had them playing catch-up in the league race.

Now, they are tied with the Mountaineers (19-5, 8-3) and No. 3 Oklahoma (20-3, 8-3) as they pursue their 12th consecutive championship. All three teams have seven games remaining.

Devin Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Jaysean Paige also had 14 points for the Mountaineers — though their leading scorer was just 5 of 16 from the field.

Williams in particular had a hard time with Lucas, who had nine points but was ferocious on the defensive end. Along with his rebounding, the junior forward had a career-high four blocks.

Unlike their meeting in Morgantown, the Jayhawks were the ones who dominated the first half Tuesday night. They committed six turnovers — they had 22 total in the first game — and shut down West Virginia at the other end, which prevented the Mountaineers from getting into their pressure defense.

In fact, it was Kansas that tried to push the tempo.

Quickly out-letting the ball after every defensive rebound, the Jayhawks rushed up court before the Mountaineers could retreat, often with Mason and Devonte Graham taking it all the way to the rim.

Kansas had built a 36-24 lead by the closing minutes, but Tarik Phillip threw in a prayer off his own miss and Paige curled in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to slice into the Mountaineers' deficit.

The Jayhawks used a 13-2 run early in the second half to take a 53-40 lead, their biggest of the game. But the Mountaineers finally got some traction with their press, forcing turnovers on four straight possessions, and slowly trimmed the lead to 54-50 with about 8 minutes left in the game.

The decisive point may have come moments later, when Phillip was fouled while driving to the basket. He whipped an elbow that clipped Mason in the chin and was assessed a flagrant foul. So after Phillip air-balled his free throw, Mason made one at the other end to start another Kansas run.

Ellis finished it off with a 3-pointer that made it 70-58 with 3:21 to go.

Despite a couple of sloppy moments down the stretch, the Jayhawks were able to coax the final couple minutes off the clock to remain perfect against West Virginia in four games at Allen Fieldhouse.

TIP-INS

West Virginia: Daxter Miles Jr. was held to two points on 1-for-8 shooting. ... Bob Huggins coached his 300th game at his alma mater. ... The Mountaineers committed only 10 turnovers.

Kansas: Wayne Selden Jr. had 11 points. Graham and Brannen Greene scored 10 apiece. ... Bill Self improved to 203-9 in Allen Fieldhouse. ... The Jayhawks shot 56 percent from the field.

UP NEXT

West Virginia plays TCU on Saturday.

Kansas visits Oklahoma on Saturday.

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