No. 5 Houston drops third straight as No. 14 Kansas bounces back
Tre White scored 23 points and No. 14 Kansas rebounded from a brutal setback to deliver a solid 69-56 victory over No. 5 Houston on Monday night in Big 12 play at Lawrence, Kan.
Darryn Peterson added 14 points as the Jayhawks (21-7, 11-4 Big 12) looked like a different team than the one that was routed 84-68 by visiting Cincinnati on Saturday.
Melvin Council Jr. and Bryson Tiller each scored 11 points for Kansas. Tiller blocked three shots and collected 10 rebounds as the Jayhawks held a 38-33 edge on the boards.
Kingston Flemings was the lone double-digit scorer for the Cougars (23-5, 11-4) but his 16 points came on 6-of-18 shooting. Houston lost its third straight game and made just 5 of 24 3-point shots and shot 31.8% overall.
The three-game slide is the first for the Cougars since January 2017. During this skid, Houston also lost at then-No. 6 Iowa State and at home to then-No. 4 Arizona.
Emanuel Sharpe had just five points on 1-of-10 shooting for the Cougars.
The Jayhawks made 44% of their shots from the field, including 7 of 17 from 3-point range.
Houston trailed 37-35 after a 3-pointer by Chris Cenac Jr. with 17:01 left in the contest.
Council converted a three-point play to start a 12-0 burst that included White draining a trey to make it a 10-point lead. Tiller split two free throws to end it and give the Jayhawks a 49-35 advantage with 12 minutes to go.
The Cougars responded with back-to-back hoops by Kalifa Sakho and Flemings before Peterson and White buried treys during an 8-0 burst that increased the Kansas lead to 57-39 with 9:14 remaining.
The lead reached 20 for the first time when White made two free throws to make it 61-41 with 7:32 left.
Flemings scored five points as Houston responded with the next seven to move within 13 with 5:50 to play.
Jamari McDowell and Peterson each hit 3-pointers as Kansas held off the charge and finished off an impressive victory.
White scored 11 first-half points for Kansas, which concluded the half with an 11-0 run to take a 31-27 lead.
Houston led 27-20 after Flemings' fast-break dunk with 3:23 left. Bidunga's dunk 15 seconds later sparked the Jayhawks and Peterson capped the flurry with a driving basket with two seconds remaining.