Henry debuts with 27, No. 1 Kansas rolls
November 13, 2009
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP)—One of the most anticipated seasons in Kansas’ storiedhistory got off to a high-flying start.
Xavier Henry hit five 3-pointers and scored 27 points to set a schoolfreshman record, and the top-ranked Jayhawks wore down overmatched Hofstra for a101-65 victory Friday night.
Kansas is a favorite to win its second national title in three seasons andplayed like it against the small-conference Pride, overcoming some occasionalsloppy moments to win its 37th consecutive home opener and eighth straightseason opener.
Sherron Collins added 23 points and Cole Aldrich had 11 points and eightrebounds, lifting the Jayhawks to their 42nd straight win at Allen Fieldhouse.
Hofstra put up a bit of a fight in its first game against a No. 1 team,piecing together a small rally to keep Kansas from running away midway throughthe first half. The Pride just couldn’t keep up Kansas’ depth and talent, hurtby early foul trouble and poor perimeter shooting.
Charles Jenkins had 23 points to lead Hofstra, was 5 of 21 from 3-pointrange.
Henry, the marquee name in Bill Self’s stellar recruiting class, stole theshow early.
The smooth left-hander hit a 3-pointer on Kansas’ first possession, added ahow-did-he-get-that-high rebound slam for a three-point play and had eightpoints in the first 3 minutes.
Henry had 10 points in the first half and opened the second with another runof eight points in 3 minutes, including a 3-pointer and a two-handed dunk on thebreak. This time, he kept going, hitting a 3-pointer from the wing and pullingup for another to put Kansas up 61-34.
Henry hit 5 of 8 from 3-point range and was 8 for 12 overall to break theKansas freshman debut record of 21 points, set by Norm Cook in 1973.
A rout, but still not perfect for Kansas.
There were a couple of early defensive breakdowns: a wide-open 3-pointer anda coast-to-coast layup by Chaz Williams. The Jayhawks cleaned it up quickly,holding Hofstra without a field goal for more than 5 minutes to go up 25-10.
The Pride did manage to keep it respectable, at least for a little while,thanks to what-were-you-thinking turnovers by the Jayhawks.
Freshman Elijah Johnson, after scoring two quick buckets, got himself in theair with nowhere to go and turned it over. Taylor later made two shaky passesthat had Self stomping and slapping his knee in disgust. Even the senior Collinsgot into the act, throwing an ill-advised pass in traffic that was easily pickedoff, Kansas’ third turnover in four possessions.
Jenkins followed with a putback to cut Kansas’ lead to 31-22 and Selfcouldn’t take anymore. The Jayhawks responded to Self’s not-so-subtle persuasionduring a timeout with 10 straight points to start a closing 17-5 run that putthem up 48-27.
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