LAWRENCE, Kan. – Marcus Morris and Tyrel Reed hit free throws in the final seconds and No. 3 Kansas erased a 10-point second-half deficit to remain unbeaten with a 63-60 victory Saturday over Nebraska.
Kansas, which has dominated Nebraska throughout the decades and came in with a 15-game winning streak over the Huskers, was thoroughly outplayed in a ragged first half and fell behind by 10 points quickly after intermission.
Morris' two foul shots gave the Jayhawks (17-0, 2-0 Big 12) a 62-58 lead. After Lance Jeter drove in for a layup, Reed was quickly fouled and made one of two.
Jeter then missed a 3-pointer for Nebraska, which outrebounded Kansas 44-31.
Reed and Marcus Morris each had 16 points and Morris added 10 rebounds as Kansas ran its school-record home court winning streak to 69 games. Jeter had 13 points for Nebraska (13-4, 1-2) and Andre Almeida had 10.
The Huskers, playing their final game at Kansas as a member of the Big 12, set the pace from the outset, forcing the Jayhawks into a slow-down game. Dictating the tempo, swarming after every rebound and loose ball, they took a 30-25 halftime lead after outrebouding Kansas in the first half an astonishing 24-12.
The Morris twins in the first half had only four points between them. Markieff wound up with seven points and seven rebounds.
They quickly went ahead after intermission 35-25 on Toney McCray's 3-pointer and Jeter's two free throws.
In a flurry of rapid ball movement, Kansas twice kept the ball from going out of bounds before Markieff Morris whipped the ball to Reed and he canned a long 3-pointer, cutting the deficit to 42-41 and triggering a thunderous roar from a sellout home crowd that had not seen the Jayhawks lose at Allen Fieldhouse since Feb. 3, 2007.
At the 11:41 mark, Markieff Morris took a short pass from Mario Little and dropped in a bucket, putting Kansas on top 43-42.
Jeter's three-point play tied it 48-all, then Jorge Brian Diaz scored to tie it at 50.
Marcus Morris scored for a 52-50 lead and then the Jayhawks took their biggest lead of the hard-fought day on a dunk by Markieff off a feed from Reed and another inside bucket by Markieff, making it 58-52 at the 2:59 mark.
Eshaunte Jones' first bucket of the day turned into a 4-point play when he was fouled on the shot by Marcus Morris. That cut the lead to 58-56 before Marcus soared in and tipped the ball through the bucket for Kansas.
Then Jones was fouled by Little and canned both free throws, making it 60-58 with 1:32 left.
Nebraska rebounded when Marcus Morris missed the front end of a one-and-one foul shot, then Markieff Morris fouled Brandon Richardson and sent him to the line on a 1-and-1 with 53.4 seconds to go. The 6-0 junior missed and Markieff Morris rebounded.
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