Kansas Jayhawks drain season-best 15 3-pointers in 89-57 victory against American

LAWRENCE, Kan. - On paper, the Kansas Jayhawks-American game looked like a total mismatch. That’s exactly how it turned out.

KU drained a season-best 15 3-pointers to crush American 89-57 at Allen Fieldhouse and pick up its 10th straight win of the season. KU’s 3-point effort fell one short of a school record. The No. 6 Jayhawks built a 20-point lead just 12 minutes into the game and ended up scoring a season-high 53 points in the first half on 69 percent shooting. KU led 53-26 at the break.

The Jayhawks shot a season-high 63 percent for the game. They shot over 50 percent for the sixth-straight game, while holding its opponent under 40-percent shooting for the 10th time this season.

Eleven KU players scored in the win. Kansas City, Mo. native and former Bishop Miege star Travis Releford drained a career-high five 3-pointers to lead KU with 19 points. He connected on seven of eight shots.

Kansas sophomore Naadir Tharpe finished with a career-best 12 assists. KU freshman forward Perry Ellis, a Wichita native, scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his career.

KU seniors Elijah Johnson and Jeff Withey scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. Johnson tied a season-high with four 3-pointers. Kansas freshman star Ben McLemore battled foul trouble and finished with nine points.

The Jayhawks next play Temple on Sunday, Jan. 6 at Allen Fieldhouse to close out non-conference play. The eight-time defending Big 12 regular-season champs open league play on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. when they host Iowa State.