WICHITA, Kan. — Devonte’ Graham didn’t know it, but he was one point shy of tying the venue scoring record at Intrust Bank Arena.
Trailing by 10 in the first half, Graham and the Jayhawks had bigger things to worry about. Graham scored 15 of his team’s 22 points to close out the first half of action Thursday afternoon against Penn. Kansas went on a 22-5 run to finish the final 7:03.
The momentum eventually subsided in the second half as Penn went on a 5-0 spurt and forced Bill Self into a timeout with 12:33 to play. Just over a minute later, the Quakers were down 4.
While post play was a concern for the Jayhawks entering this game — Udoka Azubuike was a game-time decision and played only three minutes — the Quakers stayed in the game with three-point shooting. The Quakers hit five three-pointers in the first half. Sophomore Ryan Betley and Senior Caleb Wood each nailed two. Wood drilled two more threes in the second half and finished with 14 points. Betley had 8 points in the first half and did not score again.
When the three-point shooting fizzled for the Quakers, A.J. Brodeur picked up the slack on the inside. The 6-foot-8 sophomore dropped 14 points and pulled down 9 rebounds.
Despite a handful of points coming late when the game was already at hand, KU sophomore Mitch Lightfoot nearly finished with a double-double. Lightfoot, who played 27 minutes and blocked three shots, finished with 9 points and 11 rebounds.
Only two players — Kevin Jones (West Virginia) and Justin Hurtt (Tulsa) — have ever scored 30 points in Intrust Bank Arena. At halftime, Devonte’ Graham had 19. With 7:33 left to play, he had 24. Even though Graham slowed down and went somewhat cold, the scoring record was still in danger as he reached 29 points with just under 6 minutes left.
Graham was asked after the game if he knew how close he was to the record. “I did not,” Graham said, then he joked about his missed free throw. He was 8 of 9 from the charity stripe.
FINAL: Kansas 76 Penn 60
Kansas will play Saturday against Seton Hall or NC State.