SAN DIEGO (AP) — Darryn Peterson made four 3-pointers and scored 28 points, and fourth-seeded Kansas squandered most of a 26-point lead before holding off scrappy NCAA Tournament newcomer Cal Baptist 68-60 on Friday night.
Kansas (24-10) advanced to face St. John’s in the second round on Sunday in a matchup between Hall of Fame coaches Bill Self of the Jayhawks and Rick Pitino of the Red Storm. The No. 5-seeded Red Storm beat Northern Iowa 79-53 in the East Region bracket. Kansas hasn’t survived the opening weekend since 2022, when it won the national title.
The Jayhawks led 48-22 just four minutes into the second half but the No. 13-seeded Lancers, backed by a small but loud student section, never gave up as the Jayhawks went cold for most of the last six minutes.
Dominique Daniels Jr. scored 25 points for the Lancers (25-9), including two 3-pointers in the closing minutes that brought the crowd at Viejas Arena to life as the Lancers went on an 18-2 run. They pulled to 66-60 on a layup by Martel Williams with 1:16 to go.
They got the ball back but Daniels bricked a mid-range jumper with 22 seconds left to take the air out of the rally. Kansas’ Tre White had an emphatic slam dunk with 13 seconds remaining to finish with 12 points.
“I told them to be excited that we won,” Self said. “Don’t apologize for winning a game in the NCAA Tournament. But we’ve got to be a heck of a lot better than this on Sunday.”
The Jayhawks recovered from some cold early shooting to take control.
“I actually thought we were pretty darn good for about 25 minutes, and then went stale for about eight and then was really poor the last seven,” Self said. “We just played not to lose and weren’t very aggressive.”
Cal Baptist will make the 100-mile bus ride back to Riverside having experienced the NCAA Tournament for the first time after winning the final Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
“We essentially just ran out of time,” Lancers coach Rick Croy said. “But the guys showed so much heart. That was a true March Madness game.
“We’re grateful for the competition,” he added. “We knew Kansas was going to be ready. Obviously, we would have loved to played better in the first half. But for these guys, again, to show what they’re all about, it was pretty amazing.”
Peterson, a freshman who is a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, scored Kansas’ last seven points of the first half, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, for a 38-18 lead. He hit another 3 for Kansas’ first points of the second half and later hit consecutive shots from behind the arc.
He took his last shot with 4:18 to go and wasn’t that involved in the offense as the Lancers closed the gap.
“Just playing,” he said. “I happened to not touch it. It’s fine, though. I’m happy we won.”
Peterson, who has had serious cramping issues this season, bent over and pulled his jersey partway over his face early in the second half but stayed in the game.
Brutally cold shooting
The Jayhawks were just 2 for 15 at one point early in the game and missed seven straight shots.
“We were awful. And layups, too,” Self said. “We played really tight offensively. We had one guy make a 3.”
The Jayhawks were just 14 of 35 (40%) in the first half and 26 of 65 (40%) overall.
Up next
Kansas will try to advance to its 32nd Sweet 16 when it faces St. John’s on Sunday.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
