Kansas holds on to beat Missouri

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) _ With two close Big 12 victories in three days, Kansas must be doing something right. <br/><br/>That's how coach Bill Self sees it _ but he doesn't expect everyone to agree

Tuesday, January 16th 2007, 6:22 am

By: News On 6

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) _ With two close Big 12 victories in three days, Kansas must be doing something right.

That's how coach Bill Self sees it _ but he doesn't expect everyone to agree with him.

``Too many people around here think there are bonus points for margin of victory,'' Self said after the fifth-ranked Jayhawks held off Missouri 80-77 on Monday night. ``That's not how it is in college athletics.''

Kansas (16-2, 3-0 Big 12) routed then-No. 9 Oklahoma State 87-57 in Lawrence on Wednesday but needed overtime to win 68-64 at Iowa State on Saturday.

``When people play Kansas, they get up for us,'' Self said. ``I'm not going to apologize for winning.''

It should be enough, sophomore guard Brandon Rush said, that the Jayhawks are finding ways to win the close ones.

``It's conference play, so any game's going to be tough,'' said Rush, who had 16 points against the Tigers. ``I think because we blew out Oklahoma State at home, people expected us to blow out Missouri at home.''

In the only other game involving a ranked team on Monday, No. 24 Marquette beat Louisville 74-65.

Kansas' clutch stars on Monday night were a pair of freshman reserves.

Guard Sherron Collins had seven of his career-high 23 points in the last 2 1/2 minutes. Darrell Arthur, a center, scored seven of his nine points after the midpoint of the second half. Together, they combined for 17 of the Jayhawks' last 19 points.

``They are freshmen, but they both had real good games,'' said Matt Lawrence, who hit four 3-pointers and led Missouri (11-6, 0-4) with 19 points. ``Collins was able to get to the basket tonight, and Arthur was scoring down low in our zone. They really stepped up.''

Their big performances helped Kansas extend its winning streak to 10 games _ and add to Missouri's frustration. The Tigers lost their fourth straight and have not won in Allen Fieldhouse since a 73-61 victory on Jan. 24, 1999.

``There is no moral victory,'' first-year coach Mike Anderson said. ``I thought we played a little bit better than we have been playing. I hope our players understand the urgency in conference play.''

Julian Wright had 10 rebounds for Kansas, which led by eight points with 13 1/2 minutes to go but trailed 72-71 when Marshall Brown hit two free throws with 2:57 left.

That's when Collins took over. His one-handed floater with 2:22 to go put Kansas up 73-72, and his fourth 3-pointer made it 76-72 with 1:42 left.

``That's the Sherron that we recruited,'' Self said. ``It takes time for guys to get comfortable, and this was a big game for him. Sherron was the man tonight.''

Missouri closed to 78-77 on Brown's two free throws with 44 seconds remaining. Collins' basket 6 seconds later made it 80-77, and Missouri missed a chance to force overtime when Lawrence airballed a 3-point attempt as time ran out.

``I'm kind of tired of this 'almost,''' Lawrence said. ``We were almost there in a bunch of games this season. We need to start winning these when it comes down to the end.''

Stefhon Hannah added 15 points for Missouri. Brown had 14 and J.T. Tiller 11.

Kalen Grimes of the Tigers matched a season high with 12 rebounds, 11 on the defensive end.

``We had opportunities to take advantage of the game, but we came up with some empty possessions,'' Anderson said. ``But you saw our guys. They fought, and I guess that's what the intensity of this great rivalry is all about. We left it all on the floor and just came up one possession short.''

No. 24 Marquette 74, Louisville 65

Dominic James scored 11 of his 18 points in the decisive second-half run that gave the Golden Eagles (16-4, 3-2 Big East) their third straight win overall and second in a row on the road.

Ousmane Barro had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Marquette, which returned to the Top 25 earlier Monday after falling out following losses to Providence and Syracuse. Wins at Connecticut and over West Virginia got the Golden Eagles back in the poll after one week out.

David Padgett had 18 points and nine rebounds for Louisville (12-6, 2-2), which has lost 12 straight games against ranked opponents.