Kansas Survives Late Surge from BYU, Grinds Out Gutsy Win at Allen Fieldhouse
By the time the final horn sounded at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, the Kansas Jayhawks had done just enough to hold off a furious second-half rally from BYU, escaping with a hard-earned 90-82 win in front of a raucous home crowd. It wasn’t pretty in the final minutes, but it was gritty-and that’s exactly what Bill Self’s squad needed.
Kansas, ranked No. 14, looked like a juggernaut early. Behind a red-hot first half led by freshman guard Darryn Peterson, the Jayhawks jumped out to a commanding 53-33 halftime lead.
Peterson poured in 18 points in just 17 minutes before cramps sidelined him for all but three minutes of the second half. That, combined with a knee bruise that kept Elmarko Jackson out after halftime, left KU with a skeleton rotation for the final 20 minutes.
“We were exhausted,” Self said postgame. And it showed.
The Jayhawks, who had led by as many as 21, saw that cushion shrink to just four points with 1:11 left. But in the game’s biggest moments, Kansas found a way to dig deep and close the door.
Senior transfer Melvin Council Jr. was at the heart of that response. With the shot clock winding down and KU clinging to a six-point lead, Council hit a tough, off-balance jumper with 52 seconds left to push the margin to 84-78. It wasn’t drawn up that way-Self made that clear with a grin-but it was the kind of shot that defines clutch play.
“We had nothing left in the tank,” Self admitted. “We were just trying to get to the finish line.
So we needed something good to happen. That was obviously a great play.”
Council finished with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists in 37 minutes of all-out effort. His leadership, especially with Kansas running on fumes, was just as valuable as his stat line. And he wasn’t shy about what lit a fire under freshman forward Bryson Tiller, who led KU with 21 points, including 3-of-5 shooting from deep.
“I just called him soft-but in a different way,” Council said with a grin. “I was in his ear. I can’t say exactly what I said, but it worked.”
Tiller responded with his best game in a Jayhawk uniform, stepping up when Kansas desperately needed a second scoring option. With Peterson sidelined and BYU closing the gap, Tiller’s shot-making helped steady the ship.
Flory Bidunga also came up big in crunch time. The freshman center, who had the tough defensive assignment of guarding BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, logged 33 high-effort minutes and delivered 16 points, six boards, two blocks and four assists.
He calmly knocked down two free throws with 4:03 left to stretch KU’s lead back to 11. Then came a thunderous dunk with 26 seconds left that essentially iced the game.
Jamari McDowell added his own clutch touch, hitting two key free throws with 47 seconds remaining to push the lead to eight. The freshman guard also knocked down a pair of threes earlier in the game and played a steady 26 minutes.
Self didn’t sugarcoat it-his team was running on fumes. “There was so much energy the first half, it’s like we ran on adrenaline too long,” he said. “Then it ran out, and we were just trying to get across the finish line.”
BYU, ranked No. 13 and now 17-4 overall, didn’t make it easy. The Cougars clawed all the way back behind a relentless second-half push, taking advantage of KU’s shortened rotation. But Kansas, now 16-5 overall and 6-2 in Big 12 play, did just enough-and that’s what matters in February.
Saturday wasn’t just about the game. It was a celebration at Allen Fieldhouse, marking the 1,000th game in the iconic venue.
ESPN’s College GameDay was in town, and the energy in the building matched the moment. Former Jayhawk greats like Paul Pierce, Nick Collison, the Morris twins, Thomas Robinson, and others were in the house, seated just behind the KU bench.
“I thought it was a great day,” Self said. “GameDay was a great infomercial for our university and athletic department.
The crowd was everything they said it would be and more. And we played great for 20 minutes-the best we’ve played all year.
Then we just had to piece it together.”
Piece it together they did.
Kansas now turns its attention to a quick turnaround, heading to Lubbock to face Texas Tech on Monday night. Early signs are positive for the return of both Jackson and Peterson, which would be a welcome boost for a team that showed plenty of heart-but could use a little more depth.
For now, the Jayhawks will take the win. On a day that began with celebration and nearly ended in collapse, Kansas proved it still knows how to close.