McLemore, Kansas Rise Above Ohio State
By: Matthew Tritten
Updated: December 23, 2012
(COLUMBUS, Oh.) No. 9 Kansas extended its winning streak to nine games with a 74-66 win over No. 7 Ohio State Saturday afternoon.
The game was Kansas' (10-1) first true road test of the season. KU's only loss came in a neutral-site game against Michigan State.
The Jayhawks have beaten the Buckeyes three times in less than a year, including a 64-62 decision in last season's Final Four.
Redshirt freshmen Ben McLemore led all scorers with 22 points on 8-17 shooting. The St. Louis native is leading Kansas with 15.9 points per game.
Kansas was down 31-25 with less than six minutes to play in the first half when they went on a 12-4 run to take a 37-35 lead into halftime.
The Buckeyes took a brief 40-37 lead early in the second half, but the Jayhawks took the lead back on a Naadir Tharpe layup followed by a dunk from Jeff Withey.
KU did not trail the rest of the way.
The Jayhawks shot 51-percent from the field, and had four players with double-figure scoring.
Withey posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Elijah Johnson scored 13 points in the game, while Travis Releford added 11.
Kansas takes the week off before getting back on the court in Lawrence against American University December 29th.
