By the end of the game, the temperature outside was 7 degrees and dropping toward zero, but Axtell, Boschee and Bradford were sizzling up and down the court. By our unofficial count, Axtell and Bradford finished with 14 points, and Boschee had 16 points (which earned him player of the game accolades). Gooden, Gregory and Hinrich also played well, chipping in 9, 15 and 5 points, respectively.

Overall, the Jayhawks were both cleaner and more intense than during their game against Georgia Thursday evening.

Xavier looked to be strong competition early on as they vaulted to a 12-4 lead in the first 4:18. The Anchorage crowd, initially cheering for KU, was now cheering for every Xavier play. But then the Kansas anvil dropped. The Jayhawks went on a 32-11 extended run, and never relinquished the lead. This was a very balanced run, with Axtell scoring 8 points, Chenowith 7, Gregory and Bradford giving us 4 apiece, Boschee making 3, and Gooden, Earl and London each scoring a basket. Xavier played evenly with the Jayhawks after that run, and Kansas went into the half with a 53-43 lead.

After halftime, the Jayhawks came out strong, steadily increasing their lead to 20 points, then 30, then 40. Between 7:32 and 1:39 to play, the Jayhawks held Xavier to a single point. It wasn’t Allen Fieldhouse, but the Phog truly descended.

Literally. Outside, over the road back from the Sullivan Arena, fog was rolling in as the temperature continued to fall.

While Coach Williams may be pleased with the much-improved fouling situation, this game still provides plenty of room for him to hone the players’ skills. Our counting gives Nick Collison 6 rebounds and 9 points with some very nice inside moves, but also credits him with too many errors (he finished with 5 turnovers). In the opening seconds, the Musketeers scored off a bad Collison pass. In the same half, Collison also traveled and threw the ball away twice more. Gregory and London also had a number of miscues, but Xavier was unable to capitalize.

This evening’s game with Xavier was an excellent example of an early-season Jayhawk game: a lot of exciting potential showing through with some shaky moments in between. Having seen a foul-ridden team the night before, it was a pleasure to see the improved teamwork, control and ball-handling just one night later.

One of the assets of the current Jayhawk squad is the depth of the bench, and that shows in the number of players who scored in double digits (6). The three freshman all contributed greatly in tonight’s victory, with Kirk Hinrich giving Jeff Boschee a good amount of solid backup and with Drew Gooden filling in nicely at the post.

Impressions from two Alaskan Fans:
Hooray!!! After 11 years of waiting, Roy brought the team back to Anchorage. Much as I hate to say it, it’s worth the wait! The Rock Chalk chant was going before, during and after the game; “Let’s go Jayhawks” erupted now and again, and though most of the Xavier fans cleared out with 7 minutes left, the diehard Alaskan Jayhawks were euphoric to the end, giving Nooner, Carey and Crider a thunderous welcome when they took to the court the last 4 minutes of the game.

This is the first time either of us has seen the Jayhawks play in person since a game over Christmas break in ‘95. There are some sports that are better to watch or listen to. Jayhawk basketball is NOT one of them, even with Max and Bob. Thank you to all the players, and especially to Coach Williams and Coach Washington for traveling to Alaska and making our Thanksgiving special. And we hope that Alaska has made your visits special as well, and that the memory of Mount McKinley glowing orange in the setting sun will draw you back - in less than 11 years!

Scott Gruhn, & Carrie Oswalt,

Rock-chalking in Alaska