LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP)—Thomas Robinson carried No. 5 Kansas when things looked bleak, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half and leading the Jayhawks to a 64-54 win over scrappy Texas A&M on Monday night.

Tyshawn Taylor added 17 points in another solid performance, and Kansas (17-3, 7-0 Big 12) used a big surge through the middle of the second half to wrap up its 10th consecutive victory and extend its winning streak at Allen Fieldhouse to 17 in a row.

Kansas is 18-1 against Texas A&M (11-8, 2-5), the lone loss coming in February 2007.

Elston Turner had a career-high 24 points for the Aggies, who played without starting forward Khris Middleton, their second-leading scorer. He missed the game after tweaking his right knee over the weekend, the same one he had surgery on in November.

David Loubeau added 15 points, but the Aggies couldn’t contend with the Jayhawks’ superior size, strength and quickness on the perimeter.

They certainly couldn’t contend with Robinson in the paint.

One of the leading candidates for national player of the year, the junior forward was held to two points in the first half on 1-for-6 shooting, as Texas A&M collapsed two or three defenders on him whenever he got the ball in the post.

He started bulling his way to the basket more effectively in the second half, going to the foul line 10 times—and making all of them. He also finished with 10 rebounds.

The Jayhawks threatened to turn the Big Monday matchup into a big snooze early on.

Taylor picked up right where he left off the past three games, hitting his first basket and then adding a 3-pointer as Kansas raced to an 11-0 lead. Texas A&M turned it over on four of its first five possessions and missed its first four shots along with two free throws.

The teams traded baskets before the Aggies went on a 16-2 run that gobbled up nearly 5 minutes, gave them the lead and silenced another packed house at Allen Fieldhouse.

Naji Hibbert started it with a 3-pointer and Turner added another of his own. Even freshman backup Daniel Alexander got into the act, hitting a pair of 3-pointers after coming into the game having made two all season.

Kansas pulled even at 28 when Jeff Withey converted a three-point play with 3:44 left, but that was the final basket until Dash Harris’ layup at the buzzer gave Texas A&M the halftime lead.

The game remained close until Robinson converted a three-point play with 6:55 left that gave Kansas a 47-42 lead. Robinson added two free throws on the next trip—at that point he’d scored 11 of the Jayhawks’ 13 second-half points — and Elijah Johnson’s jumper made it 51-42.

The lead reached 55-53 when Withey scored in the post and made a couple of free throws, and then Robinson answered two foul shots by Turner by tracking down a rebound like a ravenous beast, putt it back on the glass and getting fouled in the process. The free throw made it 58-47.

Kansas managed to coast the rest of the way against the team that was picked by the league’s coaches as the co-favorite to win the Big 12 along with the Jayhawks.

While Kansas remains the lone unbeaten team in conference play, Texas A&M has lost seven of its last 10 games and is already in danger of playing itself out of the NCAA tournament.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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KU release:

No. 5 Kansas Grinds Out Home Win Against Texas A&M, 64-54

LAWRENCE, Kan. – A clutch second-half performance from junior forward Thomas Robinson powered No. 5 Kansas past Texas A&M, 64-54, in a defensive battle at Allen Fieldhouse on ESPN’s Big Monday.

Monday night’s matchup featured the Big 12’s No. 1 and No. 2 in scoring defense and, predictably, defense played a primary role from the opening tip. Tagged along with Kansas atop the Big 12 preseason poll, Texas A&M (11-8, 2-5) came to Lawrence as the only team in the league to surrender 60 points per game. Kansas (17-3, 7-0) used 16 second-half points from Robinson to break that 60-point barrier and seal the victory.

After an uncharacteristic two points from Robinson in the first half, the junior forward hit a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes. The flawless performance marked the first since Wayne Simien’s 11-for-11 effort from the charity stripe in a victory against Colorado in the 2005 season.

Robinson paired his 18 points with 10 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season and tied a career high with four blocks. Fellow big man Jeff Withey brought the defensive effort, as well, blocking eight shots – the sixth time in KU history a player has blocked eight or more shots, including a nine-block effort from the junior earlier this season. The duo joined forces to out-block the visiting A&M squad, 12-0.

Without the use of junior forward Khris Middleton, the team’s second-leading scorer, the Aggies relied on junior guard Elston Turner. The game’s only 20-plus scorer, Turner snapped the career high he set two days ago against Oklahoma with 24 points on Monday night.

Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor missed his fourth-straight 20-point game by just three points, but kicked off the game on a mini 5-0 run. The Jayhawks shot out to an 11-0 lead while keeping the Aggies off the scoreboard through the first five minutes.

Stretching their defensive muscles, the Jayhawks amassed three steals in the first four minutes on the evening, as the lead stretched to 13-2.

Texas A&M entered the evening at the bottom of the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage, but hardly looked the part in the opening half. The Aggies used three treys to ignite a 13-2 run of their own, tying the game at 15-15. Freshman forward Daniel Alexander extended the run when he connected from beyond the arc - the fourth Aggie three-pointer in the game’s first 10 minutes - to hand Texas A&M its first lead of the contest, 18-15.

The lopsided scoring rallies evolved into the teams trading baskets as the five-minute mark approached in the opening frame. Strong defensive outputs continued from both sides when A&M’s Dash Harris swiped a pass near the Aggies’ basket and converted it into a three-point play, to push the visitors ahead, 28-23.

On the Kansas side, back-to-back blocks from Withey kept the Aggies off the board long enough to even the game, 28-28, for the final minute of the half. Junior guard Elijah Johnson’s steal came up empty handed, however, after A&M’s Harris grabbed the rebound and sprinted down the court for a fast break layup and the 30-28 halftime lead.

Out of the break, both teams came out hitting 50 percent from the field by the first media timeout. Taylor, the only player in double figures in the first half, drained a three to put Kansas ahead by one, setting the tone for a grinding final half.

Holding a slim 40-38 lead, consecutive KU defensive stands fired up a sold out crowd but only fueled the low-scoring battle as neither team would score for nearly five minutes. Predictably, as soon as junior guard Travis Releford broke the silence with a jumper in the lane, TAMU answered with a bucket on its next trip down the floor to keep the game close, 42-40.

Robinson took it from there. The junior center cranked out seven-straight points as Kansas diligently climbed its way back to its first double-figure lead since early in the first half, 55-45. The KU bigs came through in the clutch as Robinson and Withey combined for 15 of the Jayhawks final 22 points of the half.

Free throws from Taylor and Johnson helped KU reach its best free-throw percentage of the season (87.0), while sealing the victory, 64-54.

UP NEXT
No. 5 Kansas hits the road to play at Iowa State on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1 p.m., on ESPN. The Jayhawks overcame a 12-point, second-half deficit to defeat the Cyclones, 82-73, on Jan. 14 in Allen Fieldhouse.

KANSAS 64, TEXAS A&M 54
Postgame Notes
Jan. 23, 2012

Kansas Starters (Career/Season): C Jeff Withey (21/20); F Thomas Robinson (23/20); G Tyshawn Taylor (108/19); G Elijah Johnson (28/20); G Travis Releford (24/20).

Kansas’ Win…

… Improved KU to 17-3 on the season.

… Made the Jayhawks 7-0 in conference play for the third time in the Bill Self era and the fifth time in the 16-year history of the Big 12 Conference.

… Extended KU’s home-court winning streak to 17 games.

… Gave KU its seventh-straight win against Texas A&M, dating back to Feb. 3, 2007.

… Made the KU-Texas A&M series 18-1 in favor of KU, including 17-1 as Big 12 foes.

… Improved Kansas to 678-107 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse, including 140-7 under Bill Self.

… Moved Bill Self to 254-49 at Kansas, 461-154 overall and 10-3 against Texas A&M in his career, including 10-1 at KU.

… Made KU 2,055-802 all-time.

Team Notes:

- Kansas began the contest on an 11-0 run.

- Texas A&M led 30-28 at the half, marking just the fourth time this season KU has trailed at the half and just the second time at home.

- The Jayhawks lost the opening tip for just the fifth time this year.

- KU’s 87.0 percent shooting from the foul line (20-of-23) is the team’s highest percentage of the season.

- The Jayhawks’ 20 successful free throw attempts mark the third time the team has had 20 or more free throws made this season (25 vs. Florida Atlantic and 21 vs. Kentucky).

- The Jayhawks’ 12 blocked shots ties for the second-highest total of the season and marks the fourth time KU has had 10 or more in a game.

- KU’s 20.0 percent shooting from three-point range (4-for-20) is the lowest of the year.

- The Jayhawks outrebounded Texas A&M, 30-27, however the 30 rebounds is the fewest by KU since collecting 28 against the Aggies on March 2 of last season.

- KU has outrebounded all but four opponents this season.

- The Jayhawks improved to 43-15 on ESPN Big Monday since the inception of the Big 12 and 24-8 under Head Coach Bill Self.

Individual Notes:

- Junior F Thomas Robinson recorded his 14th double-double of the year with 18 points and 10 rebounds. His 14 double-doubles leads the Big 12.

- Robinson went 10-for-10 from the free throw line which is the most free throw attempts without a miss since Wayne Simien went 11-for-11 from the line against Colorado on Feb. 12, 2005.

- Robinson had four blocked shots in the game, which matches his career high (also vs. Florida Atlantic earlier this year and vs. Tennessee Tech in 2009-10).

- Junior C Jeff Withey recorded eight blocks in the game, which marks the second-highest total of his career. It was the third time he has had seven blocks or more in a game this season.

- Withey is averaging 3.3 blocks per game, which leads the Big 12.

- Senior G Tyshawn Taylor scored 17 points, his fifth-straight game scoring 15 or more.

- Junior G Travis Releford’s four assists tied a season high. He also had four dimes against Baylor and Florida Atlantic.

- Taylor’s 17 points gives him 1,264 for his career, which moved him into a tie for 30th on the all-time scoring list with Jerod Haase.

- Taylor’s three steals gives him 149 in his career and moves him to 18th on KU’s all-time list, passing Ryan Robertson (143), Sherron Collins (145) and Paul Pierce (147).

- Robinson’s 19th double-double of his career moved him into a tie with former teammate Marcus Morris for eighth on KU’s all-time list.

- Withey’s eight blocked shots gives him 91 in his career and ties him for 19th on KU’s all-time list with Julian Wright.