KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Holding the Longhorns to just three field goals over the final seven minutes of regulation, the No. 17/18 Kansas Jayhawks outlasted Texas, 65-57, in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championships Thursday night at Sprint Center. Freshman guard Devon Dotson led the Jayhawks with 17 points and was one of four KU starters to score in double figures. No. 3 seed Kansas advanced to meet No. 10 seed West Virginia in the tournament semifinal, to begin at approximately 8:30 p.m. (CT), Friday, March 15.

The win moved Kansas to 24-8 on the season and pushed the Jayhawks into the Big 12 semifinals for the ninth time in the last 10 years. Texas fell to 16-16 in its 2018-19 campaign.

The Jayhawks began the game clicking on all cylinders. David McCormack and Dedric Lawson helped KU jump out to an early lead, combining for nine points as the Jayhawks built an 11-4 edge over the opening three minutes of action. Texas wasn’t fazed by Kansas’ early run, however, as the Longhorns knotted up the score less than three minutes later with a 7-0 run. KU managed just a pair of field goals over a nine-minute span, but its work on the defensive end kept the Longhorns from taking advantage of its scoring drought.

The Jayhawks forced four first-half UT turnovers to go along with four blocks to keep the Texas shooters at bay. The Longhorns never led by more than four points over the first 20 minutes, but took a 29-25 edge into the final 1:40 of the half. A pair of Devon Dotson free throws and a Marcus Garrett lay-up off a Charlie Moore steal pulled the Jayhawks level with UT prior to the intermission, 29-29.

Kansas came out of the halftime locker room and quickly regained the momentum. After a Dylan Osetkowski 3-pointer handed the Longhorns a 32-31 lead 30 seconds following the restart, KU took control. Four different Jayhawks scored during a 13-3 run that saw the No. 3 seed build a 44-35 advantage with McCormack’s putback at the 15:00 mark.

Osetkowski swished two more buckets over the next two minutes to try and slow the Jayhawks, but KU had answers for both, including a Quentin Grimes 3-pointer, to go up 49-40 with just over 13 minutes to play.

UT managed to claw its way back into the game several times over the final 10 minutes of action, but KU got some much needed free throws to keep the Longhorns at arm’s length. The Jayhawks went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe over the last 10:14 of the contest. The points from the free throw line were a welcome sight for Kansas, which hit only three of its final 14 tries from the field in the last 12:20 of the game.

Two of those three field goals down the stretch came off the hands of KU’s freshmen guards, Dotson and Grimes. With 9:53 to play Grimes converted on a fastbreak lay-up to give his team an 11-point lead at 54-43. The Jayhawks then went without a field goal until the 3:34 mark, when Dotson cut through the lane to connect on the final two points of his team-high 17. That bucket gave Kansas a 60-52 advantage.

UT’s Kerwin Roach II tallied his team’s last five points of the game, including a 3-pointer to cut the Jayhawk lead to 61-57 with 2:43 to play. But four free throws from Grimes and defensive stops on each of the Longhorn’s final five possessions of the contest helped the Jayhawks close out the 65-57 victory.

Dotson led the Jayhawks in scoring for the fourth time on the year, going 6-of-11 from the field to post 17 points. Lawson was close behind with 16 points, tallying his 21st double-digit effort of the season. McCormack scored in double-figures for the third-straight game after posting 13 points, nine of which came in the first half. Grimes rounded out the leading KU scorers, adding 12 points, which included a 7-of-8 clip from the free throw line.