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Unrelenting Kansas Back In Semis After 75-70 Win

Associated Press

Kansas took control with its height advantage and got eight free throws from Jerod Haase in the closing minute to beat No. 21 Western Kentucky 75-70 on Saturday and advance to the Midwest Regional semifinals.

The Jayhawks are in the regional semifinals for the third straight year and will head to Kansas City for a game Friday against No. 13 Virginia. “When it was time to step up, we stepped up,” Haase said.

Kansas kept its early-round streak alive by avoiding a letup like it had in its last NCAA failure - a second-round loss to Texas-El Paso in 1992 when the Jayhawks also were the top seed at the University of Dayton Arena.

Kansas kept pushing the ball inside to its towering front line to frustrate the undersized Hilltoppers. And when Western Kentucky chopped a 13-point deficit to four in the final minute with a blaze of 3-pointers, the Jayhawks put it away from the line.

Kansas sank 22 of 25 from the foul line in the second half. Haase hit 10 of his 14 points from the line, and Sean Pearson snapped out of a three-game shooting slump with 17 points.

The Hilltoppers, trying to make it to the regional semifinals for the second time in the last three years, couldn’t follow up on their overtime win Thursday over Michigan. Their press lacked bite and their shots fell short most of the night as they played tired.

Kansas 75, W.Kentucky 70

WESTERN KENTUCKY (27-4)

Jackson 1-3 0-1 2, Robinson 6-15 3-5 15, Hall 3-9 1-3 7, Fraliex 5-12 0-0 14, Horn 5-16 5-5 16, Rogers 3-14 5-9 11, C.Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Glass 1-2 0-0 3, Flowers 1-1 0-0 2, Thornton 0-4 0-0 0, Holley 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 26-77 14-24 70.

KANSAS (25-5)

Pearson 5-8 4-4 17, LaFrentz 2-12 2-2 6, Ostertag 3-5 0-0 6, Vaughn 3-5 4-5 10, Haase 2-7 10-15 14, B.Thomas 2-6 0-0 6, Williams 2-3 0-0 4, McGrath 0-0 0-0 0, Pollard 4-9 4-4 12, Gurley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 24-30 75.

Halftime-Kansas 32, W.Kentucky 27. 3-Point goals-W.Kentucky 6-22 (Fraliex 4-10, Glass 1-2, Horn 1-4, C.Thomas 0-1, Rogers 0-2, Robinson 0-3), Kansas 5-16 (Pearson 3-5, B.Thomas 2-6, Vaughn 0-1, Gurley 0-1, Haase 0-3). Fouled out- Robinson. Rebounds-W.Kentucky 47 (Hall 12), Kansas 49 (Pollard 11). Assists- W.Kentucky 11 (Rogers 7), Kansas 14 (Vaughn 9). Total fouls-W.Kentucky 27, Kansas 22. A-13,045.

Virginia 60, Miami (Ohio) 54, OT

The Cavaliers overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half before turning the game over to Junior Burrough, who scored Virginia’s first seven points in overtime to hold off the Redskins.

Virginia won its ninth straight overtime game, keeping its seniors undefeated in extra periods during their college careers.

A turnaround jumper by Burrough, who had 28 points and 12 rebounds, with 59 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 46.

With 26 seconds left, Miami’s Chris McGuire drove to the basket and ended up on the floor after making contact with Jamal Robinson. No foul was called and a partisan crowd favoring Miami, just 45 miles away, booed the officials.

Robinson shot an air ball on a 15-footer with 3 seconds left, sending the game to overtime.Burrough, who scored nine of Virginia’s 14 points in overtime, took over at the outset, winning the tip and then scoring inside.

MIAMI, OHIO (23-7)

Mahaffey 3-12 0-0 7, Davis 4-14 4-7 12, Beard 1-5 0-0 2, Cross 0-2 4-5 4, Hackim 6-13 0-1 12, Bozeman 2-3 0-0 4, McGuire 4-12 1-3 11, Henderson 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 20-61 11-18 54.

VIRGINIA (24-8)

Burrough 11-15 6-7 28, Williford 1-4 1-2 3, Alexander 0-0 0-0 0, Staples 4-13 0-0 10, Deane 4-15 3-4 14, Robinson 2-4 1-1 5, Barnes 0-0 0-0 0, Nolan 0-0 0-0 0, Ellsworth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 11-14 60.

Halftime-Miami 23, Virginia 17. End of Regulation-Miami 46, Virginia 46. 3-Point goals-Miami, Ohio 3-20 (McGuire 2-9, Mahaffey 1-6, Beard 0-1, Cross 0-2, Hackim 0-2), Virginia 5-19 (Deane 3-9, Staples 2-8, Williford 0-2). Fouled out- Mahaffey, Alexander. Rebounds-Miami, Ohio 36 (Davis 12), Virginia 41 (Williford 13). Assists-Miami, Ohio 8 (McGuire 4), Virginia 6 (Deane 4). Total fouls-Miami, Ohio 18, Virginia 18. A-13,045.

xxxx Midwest Regional Today’s games Syracuse (20-9) vs. Arkansas (28-6) Memphis (23-9) vs. Purdue (25-6)