COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Elijah Johnson scored 21 points and Tyshawn Taylor made key plays down the stretch to help No. 4 Kansas fight off a late run by Texas A&M for a 66-58 victory Wednesday night.
Kansas (23-5, 13-2 Big 12) led by as many as 21 points in the second half before a big run by the Aggies got them within striking distance.
A 3-pointer by Dash Harris cut the Kansas lead to four points, but Taylor made the first of two free throws to leave Kansas up 61-56 with about a minute remaining.
Johnson added a free throw before Thomas Robinson fouled out on a technical he received during a scuffle between players when they were trying to secure a loose ball.
Elston Turner made both free throws to make it 62-58 with 40 seconds left, but Jeff Withey scored four points after that to guarantee the win.
Khris Middleton led Texas A&M (13-14, 4-11) with 23 points.
AP TOP 25
Big 12 Conference
College Station, Texas
Wednesday
No. 4 Kansas 66,
Texas A&M 58
KANSAS (23-5)
Robinson 3-10 4-5 10, Withey 3-7 5-7 11, Taylor 4-10 3-5 12, Johnson 7-11 4-7 21, Releford 2-6 0-1 4, Tharpe 0-0 0-0 0, Teahan 0-6 4-4 4, Wesley 0-0 0-0 0, Young 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 21-54 20-29 66.
TEXAS A&M (13-14)
Loubeau 4-10 2-2 10, Green 1-4 1-2 3, Middleton 8-14 4-4 23, E. Turner 3-9 2-2 10, R. Turner 2-7 0-3 4, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 3-6 1-1 8, Alexander 0-1 0-0 0, Kinsley 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 10-14 58.
Halftime—Kansas 31, A&M 21. Three-point goals—Kansas 4-18 (Johnson 3-7, Taylor 1-3, Releford 0-2, Teahan 0-6), Texas A&M 6-18 (Middleton 3-6, E. Turner 2-5, Harris 1-3, Kinsley 0-4). Fouled out—Loubeau, Robinson. Rebounds—Kansas 42 (Robinson 13), Texas A&M 34 (R. Turner 8). Assists—Kansas 12 (Robinson, Taylor 4), Texas A&M 12 (E. Turner 5). Total Fouls—Kansas 15, Texas A&M 20. Technical—Robinson. A—6,868.
Iowa State 72,
Texas Tech 54
AMES, Iowa — Scott Christopherson and Melvin Ejim each scored 17 points and Iowa State pulled away against Texas Tech on Wednesday night, reaching 20 wins for the first time in eight years.
Royce White had 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Cyclones (20-8, 10-5 Big 12), who also earned 10 wins in the Big 12 for the first time since 2001.
Iowa State struggled at times against the Big 12’s worst team, though. The Cyclones trailed by four at halftime, let the Red Raiders shoot nearly 46 percent and didn’t push their lead into double digits until just over 6 minutes were left.
Jaye Crockett had 17 points for the Red Raiders (8-19, 1-14), who remain winless on the road in the Big 12.
Iowa State played about as poorly as it has all season in the first half, falling behind 32-28 to a team it blasted by 24 points last month in Lubbock.
Oklahoma 77, Oklahoma State 64
NORMAN, Okla. — It took less than eight minutes for Oklahoma to almost completely blow an 18-point halftime lead, but the Sooners made sure a stellar first-half defensive effort didn’t go to waste.
Steven Pledger scored 17 points, Romero Osby added 16 points and 13 rebounds and Oklahoma snapped a six-game losing streak by beating Bedlam rival Oklahoma State on Wednesday night.
OU (14-13, 4-11 Big 12) extended its home winning streak against Oklahoma State (13-15, 6-9) to eight games, but first had to hold off a furious rally by the Cowboys.
Oklahoma led 30-12 at halftime after Oklahoma State set a school record for fewest points in a half against a Big 12 foe.
