Kansas Defeats Rhode Island 76-60

For the second straight game in a row, the Jayhawks never trailed their opponent and went on to defeat Rhode Island 76-60 and advance in the winner's bracket of the Orlando Classic.

After a slow start to the first half, Kansas took the lead for good on a Perry Ellis jumper at the 15:24 mark.  The game went from 4-4 tie to 25-10 in favor of the Jayhawks in a six minute span, and the 'Hawks just kept piling on the rest of the first half.  Kansas went through a stretch of 5/7 from 3-point range while at the same time Rhode Island went 0/5.  Soon the Jayhawks would lead 35-14 and would coast into halftime with a 43-25 edge on the scoreboard.

The Rams never would quite go away in the second half, although they rarely threatened to make a serious run at the Jayhawks.  They were able to close the gap to within 12 or 13 points a couple of times, including with approximately 5:30 left in the game, but never got any closer.

For the second game in a row, Perry Ellis led the way for Kansas in terms of scoring, with 17 points on 5/10 shooting (including 1/2 from 3-pt), and shot 6/9 from the stripe.  Frank Mason dished out five assists, and Wayne Selden added four more.  Cliff Alexander led the Jayhawks in rebounds with eight, while Selden picked up seven of his own.

Up next, Kansas will take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday, Nov 28 at 11 AM Kansas time.