McLemore keys second-half rally to lead Kansas past Chattanooga

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Freshman guard Ben McLemore had 25 points and eight rebounds, Elijah Johnson added 18 points and No. 7 Kansas used a big second-half charge to beat Chattanooga 69-55 on Thursday night.

The Jayhawks (2-1), coming off a loss Tuesday night to Michigan State, got off to a sluggish start against the Mocs, and still trailed 42-30 in the opening minutes of the second half.

Jeff Withey began their comeback with a basket inside, Johnson ripped a 3-pointer and McLemore slammed down the first of back-to-back highlight-reel dunks to trigger a 27-4 run over the next 12-plus minutes. Kansas merely had to go through the motions down the stretch to wrap up the win.

Farad Cobb was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc in the first half before finishing with 21 points for Chattanooga (1-1), the perennial Southern Conference contender. Z Mason added 13 points.