Dec. 19, 2006

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Five Jayhawks scored in double-figures, including 15 points apiece from sophomores Julian Wright and Brandon Rush, as the University of Kansas rolled past Winston-Salem State University, 94-43, Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

KU (9-2) shot 57.6-percent from the field, dished out 29 assists and led by as many as 53 points en route to its highest scoring output of the season.

The Jayhawks held the Rams (1-14) to just 34-percent shooting and forced WSSU into a season-high 24 turnovers that led to 35 Kansas points.  KU also controlled the paint, outscoring Winston-Salem State, 56-10, while outrebounding the Rams by a count of 40-28.

The 51-point win matched Kansas' largest margin of victory this season, equalling the 83-32 win over Dartmouth on November 28 and was the Rams' largest loss of the season, surpassing the 45-point defeat that Winston-Salem State faced at the University of Notre Dame on November 29, 2006.

The Rams played well during the first half of play as WSSU was within two points of the nationally-ranked (#11 in the Associated Press poll; #12 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll) Jayhawks with 12:39 remaining in the first half with the score 15-13 in favor of the home team.

Following the under-12 minute media timeout, the Jayhawks used their daunting size and superior quickness to mount a 26-5 run to take control of the game with a 25-point lead, their largest of the first 20 minutes of play.

Kansas guard Mario Chalmers, left, and forward Darrell Arthur, right, cover Winston-Salem State forward Darrell Wonge during WSSU's loss to Kansas on Tuesday evening (AP Photo)

Kansas surged to their 45-21 halftime lead, led by Wright's 10 points, after shooting 57.6-percent and scoring 13 points off 12 WSSU turnovers. 

Second-half action was all KU as the Jayhawks pushed their lead to as many as 53 points, en route to securing the 94-43 victory. 

Junior forward Sasha Kaun scored a season-high 11 points, and freshman forward Darrell Arthur notched 13 points, four blocks and a career-high three steals.  Freshman guard Sherron Collins added 11 points, while sophomore guard Mario Chalmers tied a career-high with eight assists to go along with his nine points. 

Winston-Salem State was led by Darius Floyd's 17 points as he and Curtis Hines (10 points) were the only Ram players to tally double-figures in scoring.  Floyd turned in a six of 17 shooting performance from the field including an impressive five of 10 shooting exhibition from behind the three-point arch.

KU Junior guard Jeremy Case scored a season-high eight points, on 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the three-point line, as KU's bench outscored Winston-Salem State's, 40-19.

The Rams did not help their own cause from the free throw line as the capacity crowd of 16,300 disrupted WSSU's foul shooting ability as WSSU missed all but one of their 11 free throw attempts (11.1%).

The loss drops the Rams to 1-14 overall while the Jayhawks improve to 9-2 on the season with the win.

Winston-Salem State drops their 11th consecutive game and will look to break the losing streak on Saturday, December 23, 2006 in Birmingham, Alabama as they return to action versus the Blazers of UAB at Bartow Arena.

For additional information on WSSU men's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Sports Information at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURAMS.com.

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