Remy Martin nailed a 3-pointer with 36 seconds remaining to give No. 7 Kansas the cushion it needed to ride out the final minute and avoid an upset bid Saturday by downing visiting Stephen F. Austin 80-72 at Lawrence, Kan.
Christian Braun, who grabbed a key offensive rebound before the Jayhawks (9-1) found Martin for his 3-pointer, scored a game-high 21 points.
Kansas won its fifth straight, though the outcome was much closer than the 24-point average margin of victory the club enjoyed in the previous four blowouts. Dajuan Harris went 4-for-4 from the line in the final minute to close out the win.
Ochai Agbaji added 18 points, including four 3-pointers, as the Jayhawks extended their home winning streak against nonconference opponents to 23.
Martin scored 15 points and Jalen Wilson added 10.
David Kachelries scored 18 points to pace Stephen F. Austin (8-4). Gavin Kensmil added a double-double, contributing 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Sadaidriene Hall scored 14 points and Calvin Solomon had 10.
The Lumberjacks, coached by former Kansas assistant Kyle Keller, shot 53.4 percent but could not overcome 20 turnovers, which led to 28 Kansas points.
Kansas jumped out to a 19-7 first-half lead, but Stephen F. Austin used a 14-2 flurry to gain a 27-25 lead before the Jayhawks closed with an 11-2 blitz for a 38-31 halftime margin.
The Lumberjacks, who have road upsets at Baylor, Duke and LSU in Keller’s six seasons as coach, played more aggressively in the middle of the half and gained a 10-5 margin in fast-break points, as well as a 20-16 rebounding margin.
Wilson keyed the late push by Kansas with eight first-half points. Agbaji canned his first four shots, including three 3-pointers, and scored 11 first-half points. Starter David McCormack missed most of the half with two fouls.
Kensmil led Stephen F. Austin’s early control of the boards with seven rebounds despite two first-half fouls. Kensmil, Solomon and Hall each netted eight first-half points.
Lattrell Jossell, a transfer who played sparingly for Kansas last season, started for the Lumberjacks and added nine points, all in the second half.
–Field Level Media
