FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) Christian Braun scored 30 points and No. 6 Kansas pulled away from St. Joseph’s on Friday to win 94-72 in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off.
Braun made 10 of 13 shots, hit five 3-pointers and added nine rebounds.
Ochai Agbaji, whose foul trouble proved costly in a 102-90 loss to No. 1 Gonzaga, added 18 points. Jalen Wilson had 14 for the Jayhawks (1-1).
Jack Forrest had 18 points for St. Joseph’s (0-2). Ryan Daly and Dahmir Bishop added 14 for the Hawks.
Trailing by eight at halftime, the Hawks scored the first 10 points of the second half to go up 46-44. Daly’s layup capped the run. Kansas went on a 21-6 run to put the game away.
St. Joe’s surprised the Jayhawks by taking a 27-20 lead, but Kansas recovered, then went on an 11-0 burst to go up 39-30 and led 44-36 at halftime.
Kansas made 50% of its shots and had a 51-33 advantage in rebounds. The Hawks stayed in the game by making 13 3-pointers.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas: For the secondstraight game, the Jayhawks started slowly and needed to rally.
St. Joseph’s: Based on 70 minutes of competitive basketball against Auburn and Kansas, the Hawks will be in a lot of games this season. The Hawks, who went 6-26 last season, return their top five scorers, including Taylor Funk, who averaged 20.6 points a game.
UP NEXT
Kansas: The Jayhawks have another top-10 matchup when they play Kentucky on Tuesday in Indianapolis, site of this season’s Final Four.
St. Joseph’s: The schedule doesn’t get easier – the Hawks play at No. 3 Villanova on Monday.
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