Tre White scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and Kansas pulled away down the stretch for a 71-60 victory over ice-cold Syracuse in the Players Era men’s tournament in Las Vegas on Tuesday afternoon.
White made 4 of 9 shots from the field and all six of his free throws and grabbed 10 rebounds. He converted four free throws when the Jayhawks (5-2) built a 13-point lead after Syracuse had sliced it to 52-50 on a 3 by Tyler Betsey with 6:01 remaining.
Melvin Council Jr. shot 3-of-15 but chipped in 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Flory Bidunga added 11 of his 13 in the opening minutes when Kansas took an early double-digit lead. He also finished with 14 rebounds to help the Jayhawks command the glass 49-29.
Bryson Tiller added 11 and eight rebounds as the Jayhawks shot 44.4% and thrived inside by converting 14 layups and dunks, getting 18 second-chance points while overcoming 15 turnovers.
Betsey led Syracuse (4-2) with 12 points, but like the rest of his teammates he struggled to consistently make shots (4 of 13). JJ Starling added 10 points but shot 3-of-13 and Kiyan Anthony was held to six on 2-of-12 from the field, including 0-of-6 from behind the arc.
The Orange shot 31.7 % and misfired on 23 of 30 3-pointers. Syracuse also shot 13-of-23 from the line after shooting 12-of-29 in its overtime loss to Houston on Monday.
Bidunga scored 11 points as Kansas opened a 21-12 lead on a 3 by Kohl Rosario with 11:03 remaining. Kansas used a 9-2 spurt to extend it to 30-17 on a putback by Tiller with 5:03, forcing Syracuse to use a 30-second timeout.
The Jayhawks held a 34-25 lead by halftime.
Anthony converted a pair of three-point plays to get Syracuse within 46-40 with 13:07 remaining. After Tiller’s three-point play gave Kansas a 52-41 lead, Starling and Betsey sank 3s to conclude a 9-0 run that got the Orange within 52-50 at the 6:01 mark.
White converted a three-point play and three free throws after being fouled by Nate Kingz with 4:07 left for a 60-50 Kansas lead. Council hit a jumper in the lane to cap the decisive 11-0 run with about three minutes to go.
