Darryn Peterson scored 23 points as No. 8 Kansas cruised to an 81-69 win over Oklahoma State in a Big 12 Conference showdown on Wednesday in Stillwater, Okla.
Bryson Tiller contributed 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for Kansas (20-6, 10-3 Big 12). Tre White tallied 16 points and Elmarko Jackson pitched in 14 points. Peterson played just three second-half minutes as the Jayhawks won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Parsa Fallah led Oklahoma State (16-10, 4-9) with 21 points. Anthony Roy added 16 points as the Cowboys lost their fourth straight game.
Kansas jumped out to a 17-6 lead as Peterson scored 13 points before the first media timeout. He achieved this by hitting all three of his 3-point shots, blowing past a defender for a layup and making a pair of free throws.
When Peterson made his first trip to the bench, the Jayhawks led 19-8. While its leading scorer sat, Kansas pushed to a 28-13 lead with a 7-0 run that Tiller capped with a layup.
The Jayhawks made 10 of their first 14 shots from the field, including six of their first eight 3-point attempts, as Oklahoma State only made 2 of its first 13 shots.
By the time Peterson drained his fifth three of the first half for his 20th point, Kansas looked to have it on cruise control with a 37-16 lead. But, Oklahoma State found its stride as the Jayhawks went scoreless for over four minutes. Fallah kicked off an 11-0 run with a layup and the Cowboys were down 39-27 with 1:52 left in the half. Kansas held a 43-29 halftime lead.
As the second half began, Oklahoma State stayed hot from the field. Its run grew to 17-4 on a Fallah layup, and Kansas led 43-33.
Gradually, Kansas rebuilt its lead to 59-40 as White hit consecutive threes. Tiller’s dunk off an assist from Jackson gave the Jayhawks a 61-40 lead.
The Cowboys tried to rally late and closed within 77-64 on Isaiah Coleman’s runner with 2:10 remaining. But Kansas led by double digits the rest of the way.
