December 13, 2008 | AP Press

KANSAS CITY, MO – Ricky Harris had 18 points, Chris Lowe added 12 and Massachusetts used a stingy defense to hold off Kansas (No. 23 ESPN/USA Today, No. 25 AP) on Saturday, 61-60.

UMass (3-6) has had trouble pulling out close games this season, with four of its six losses by seven points or fewer. The Minutemen built a 14-point lead in the first half, let Kansas back in it, but held on this time to end the Jayhawks’ 30-game home winning streak.

Tony Gaffney had 13 rebounds, six blocked shots, three assists and three steals for UMass.

Kansas (7-2), back in the top 25 after being knocked out last week, shot 34 percent overall and 5-of-23 from 3-point range.

The Jayhawks pulled within 61-60 on Sherron Collins’ long 3-pointer with 27 seconds left. Kansas had a final chance after Lowe missed two free throws with 20 seconds left, but Collins missed a left-handed scoop shot and Kansas couldn’t get another shot off before the buzzer.

Collins, the Jayhawks’ leading scorer, had 19 points on 6-of-21 shooting, including 1-for-7 on 3-pointers. Cole Aldrich added 12 points and 13 rebounds for Kansas.

The game was played at the Sprint Center, about 45 minutes from KU’s campus. It was still considered a home game for the Jayhawks and felt like it, with most of near-sellout crowd wearing red and blue, cheering as if it were at Allen Fieldhouse.

They spent most of the first 20 minutes grumbling, watching Kansas play its worst half of the season.

Making sloppy passes and struggling against the physical Minutemen, Kansas went more than 7 minutes without a field goal and shot 8-for-28. Gaffney had something to do with it, blocking four shots by halftime, and the Jayhawks didn’t help themselves with 10 turnovers, most on ill-advised passes that had coach Bill Self screaming from the bench.

Kansas also had numerous defensive breakdowns, giving UMass uncontested jumpers from the top of the key, 3-pointers from the corners. The Minutemen took advantage, getting eight points from Harris during a 16-1 run that put them up 32-18 with just over 3 minutes left.

Then Kansas finally came to life.

Sparked by Tyrel Reed’s 3-pointer from the wing, the Jayhawks started hitting shots and picked up the defensive pressure, pulling within 36-30 by halftime.

Kansas kept the momentum going in the second half, chipping away until Reed hit a 3-pointer to give the Jayhawks a 46-45 lead, setting up a back-and-forth final 12½ minutes.