March 10, 2006

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DALLAS (AP) - Sasha Kaun scored 16 points and Mario Chalmers added 15, including a pair of free throws with 19.8 seconds left, helping No. 17 Kansas slog pasts Oklahoma State 63-62 Friday night in an ugly Big 12 tournament quarterfinal game.

Although the Jayhawks (22-8) won for the 13th time in 14 games, they were far from smooth. For instance, their defense forced the Cowboys (17-15) to miss seven shots and have seven turnovers over an 8-minute stretch in the second half, yet Kansas only scored nine points during it all.

The final minute was a wild, fitting end, with missed free throws, a video review of a 3-pointer and a non-call at the end with two Oklahoma State players on the ground and the final seconds ticking off.

The loss ended the Cowboys' two-year reign as tournament champions. As the seventh seed, they weren't expected to make it three in a row, and they're not expected to make the NCAA field, either.

Byron Eaton led Oklahoma State with 18 points. He was 5-of-6 on 3-pointers, including one that spun in with 1.8 seconds left for the narrow final margin. JamesOn Curry added 17.

Kaun went 6-of-9 in his best game since mid-December. He wasn't on the court much at the end, though, because of a brutal free-throw touch that was shared by his teammates. Kansas was 18-of-30 at the line, missing seven in the final 3:44, including a pair by Jeff Hawkins with 7 seconds left that would've iced the win.