LAWRENCE, Kan. – Junior guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk drove the lane and laid in the game-winner as time expired to push No. 3/2 Kansas past Kansas State, 90-88, as the Jayhawks claimed round one of the 2017 Dillions Sunflower Showdown Tuesday night inside Allen Fieldhouse. The buzzer-beater gave KU its 13th-straight victory and moved its all-time series edge over KSU to 192-93.

With the game tied at 88-88 and just 5.5 seconds remaining in regulation, the Jayhawks (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) found themselves with a final possession and opportunity to put away the pesky squad out of Kansas State (12-2, 1-1 Big 12). After Devonte’ Graham found Mykailiuk near midcourt, the guard out of Ukraine saw nothing but open court in front of him, taking it the final 47 feet to the bucket, where he laid it in before the final buzzer sounded. The ball kissed off the side rim, off the backboard and through the bottom of the net to hand the Jayhawks their 11th-straight home victory over their in-state rival.
Mykhailiuk’s bucket brought an end to a stellar second half for the junior who scored all 11 of his points in the final frame, which included a 2-of-3 mark from beyond the arc. He was joined by four other Jayhawks to score in double figures, including freshman guard Josh Jackson, who led all scorers with 22 points, tying a season high, and senior forward Landen Lucas who added a career-high 18 points and brought down 12 rebounds to tally his second double-double in as many games.

Though Kansas came away with the win, it was anything but easy as the Wildcats refused to go away for the full length of the game. The Jayhawks’ now-47-game Allen Fieldhouse winning streak didn’t seem to intimidate their Sunflower State rivals as the Wildcats got out of the gates quickly. The visitors opened a nine-point lead just eight minutes into the contest with the help of nine makes on their first 13 attempts and four 3-pointers.

After netting a season-low four points in his team’s conference opener at TCU last Saturday, Jackson showed no effects of a hangover as he helped the Jayhawks stay within arm’s reach of the Wildcats. The freshman out of Detroit put in 16 of KU’s first 26 points, including a pair of rim-rattling dunks that brought the capacity Allen Fieldhouse crowd to a frenzy.

As well as the Wildcats shot at the start of the second half, Kansas matched it with a torrid shooting stretch of its own to close the frame. After converting on only three of its first nine attempts from the field, KU posted a blistering 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) clip over the final 16 minutes to fly by the Wildcats before the halftime buzzer. In the final 6:20 of the half, Frank Mason III connected on four 3-pointers and was joined by Jackson and Graham, who each shot one in from long range, to turn what once was a nine-point deficit into a 10-point KU advantage at the half, 52-42.

The double-digit halftime deficit didn’t last long as Kansas State started the second half on an 11-4 run, a stretch that prompted a timeout from KU head coach Bill Self less than three minutes into the half.

The quick talk did the trick as Kansas regained control with help from Mykhailiuk. He answered KSU’s early second-half run with a 3-pointer followed by a trio of free throws. Lagerald Vick added a trey of his own to give his squad a 70-62 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining.

Kansas State again refused to go down without a fight as the Wildcats clawed back over the next four minutes, eventually bringing the score back to level at 75-75 on a jumper from sophomore Dean Wade at the 8:34 mark.

Both teams suffered from scoring droughts that lasted more than three minutes in the waning minutes of the match. Though the Jayhawks never surrendered the lead down the final stretch, their lead never stretched to more than four over the final four minutes of regulation.

KSU’s Wesley Iwundu pulled the game level for the ninth and final time on his jumper with 50 seconds to play. Both teams had possessions to pull ahead in the final minute. However, neither side could pull ahead until Mykhailiuk’s driving bucket to end the game.

Kansas ended the game shooting 53.2 percent (33-of-62) but allowed the visitors a 50.8 percent (31-of-61) clip, marking the first opponent in 30 games to shoot better than 50 percent from the field.

In addition to Jackson, Lucas and Mykhailiuk’s double-digit efforts, Mason III added 15 points, his 13th game in double-figures this year. Graham contributed 13 points and tied Jackson for the team lead with six assists.

UP NEXT
Kansas returns to Allen Fieldhouse to face Texas Tech on Saturday night at 6:15 p.m. Central on ESPN2. The Red Raiders are fresh off a overtime victory over No. 7 West Virginia.