22 November 2023
HONOLULU (KSNT) – It wasn’t the first-place finish most fans were hoping for, but Kansas men’s basketball still finished the Maui Invitational with a win.
A second-half scoring run gave the Jayhawks the upper hand in the close contest, with Kansas beating Tennessee 69-60 to end the tournament.
The win for the No. 1-ranked Jayhawks over the No. 7 ranked Volunteers comes less than 14 hours after a Kansas defeat to No. 4 Marquette on the same floor.
Kansas never felt a hangover, starting Wednesday’s contest with an alley-oop dunk from Hunter Dickinson to K.J. Adams to take a 2-0 lead four seconds into the game.
The rest of the first half was back-and-fourth. Tennessee lead by as many as seven points, but the Jayhawks stormed back to tie the game at 35-35 at the break.
Both teams fired shots in the second half, locking at 49-49 at the under-12 minute media timeout. From there, the Jayhawks took over.
It started with back-to-back jumpers from Hunter Dickinson, a Volunteer layup, then back-to-back Kevin McCullar Jr. layups to take a 57-51 lead. Minutes later, Kansas extended it to a 17-6 run, up 66-55 with two minutes to play.
Fouls and free throws pulled the game close down the stretch, but two Elmarko Jackson shots from the charity stripe kept the game out of reach, securing a 69-60 Kansas victory.
Dickinson continued his incredible start to his season with a 17-point, 20-rebound performance, his second 20-rebound performance of the season.
The win secured a third-place finish in the Maui Invitational for the top-ranked Jayhawks. Next up for Kansas is a home matchup against Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 28.