Kansas basketball survives, beats California Baptist in March Madness
Kansas basketball won’t be the subject of a NCAA tournament upset defeat on Friday. The Jayhawks won a round of 64 matchup against California Baptist.
SAN DIEGO, California — Kansas basketball’s round of 64 matchup against California Baptist in the men’s NCAA tournament on Friday saw the Jayhawks win 68-60. KU (24-10) , the No. 4 seed in the East Region, never trailed during this matchup in San Diego, California.
However, California Baptist (25-9), the No. 13 seed, pushed the Jayhawks to the brink with an epic comeback attempt in the second half in front of a raucous crowd inside Viejas Arena. Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, who struggled initially to hit shots, ended up finishing the game with 28 points to lead all scorers.
RELATED: Kansas basketball vs Cal Baptist final score: KU advances to Round of 32 It wasn’t just Peterson who couldn’t get shots to fall early on, as both teams had horrendous starts trying to hit shots from the field. It was KU that was able to overcome that by game’s end, despite that much-improved effort offensively from California Baptist in the second half that saw it out-score KU by 12 points after halftime. Dominique Daniels Jr.
led that charge for the Lancers, as he finished with 25 points in the defeat and served as a magnet for emotion for the crowd. Kansas will now look ahead to a game Sunday against No. 5 seed St.