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Mason leads No. 1 Kansas past Oklahoma State, 90-85

Kansas guard Frank Mason III is one of the leading contenders for national player of the year honors. (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
By Cliff Brunt Associated Press
Kansas guard Frank Mason III is one of the leading contenders for national player of the year honors. (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) – Kansas had already clinched its 13th consecutive Big 12 regular-season title, so there was nothing on the line against Oklahoma State.

Turns out, the game meant a lot to the Jayhawks. They had dropped three straight in Stillwater and were ready to end the streak.

Frank Mason III scored 27 points to help No. 1 Kansas hold off Oklahoma State 90-85 on Saturday night.

“It means a lot to get my first win here,” said Mason, a senior. “We’ve been bad for the last three years here, and we just wanted to come here and change it.”

Mason, the Big 12’s leading scorer, also had nine assists and eight rebounds.

“This was like Russ Westbrook numbers out there,” Kansas center Landen Lucas said. “He’s close to a triple-double, he did things defensively to help us out. I mean, he carried the team.”

Josh Jackson had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Devonte’ Graham added 13 points for the Jayhawks, who won their eighth straight overall. The Jayhawks (28-3, 16-2) shot 56 percent against one of the hottest teams in the league.

Jeffrey Carroll scored a career-high 27 points and Jawun Evans added 22 points and a career-best 15 assists for Oklahoma State (20-11, 9-9).

Kansas led by 12 in the first half before Oklahoma State rallied. Carroll’s 3-pointer with 18.3 seconds left in regulation cut the Jayhawks’ lead to 88-85, but the Cowboys got no closer.

“We won several games just like this game that came down to the last few minutes, and the guys have been pretty good finishers,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “They’re pretty confident in late-game situations.”

Oklahoma State enters the Big 12 Tournament with confidence, despite losses to No. 24 Iowa State and Kansas this week.

“We didn’t lose anything,” coach Brad Underwood said. “We got beat by two really good teams in the Top 25 – one on the road (Iowa State), one is the top team in the country. We’re not playing bad. There’s a difference between playing bad and losing. We’ve got to figure out a couple of things to do differently to win them, and we’ll get there because we’ve been there.”