LAWRENCE, Kan. – A 10-2 second half spurt helped No. 1 Kansas hold off the Wildcats 74-71 here Saturday  in a high-energy game played at Allen Field House before a raucous crowd of 16,300. Prior to that surge, the Wildcats had built a 54-51 lead with 9:14 to play.
 
Senior guard Phil Booth established a new career high with 29 points to match Kansas' Lagerald Vick for game high. Dedric Lawson added 28 points and 12 rebounds for the Jayhawks while senior Eric Paschall added 17 points and four rebounds.
 
The Jayhawks improved to 9-0 overall while the Wildcats dipped to 8-4.
 
"We're very fortunate to have played at the Palestra (Tuesday) and now in this great atmosphere here," stated VU head coach Jay Wright. "It's just awesome. The guys loved it. We played a great program and it was tough outcome.
 
"They just did a great job of getting LaGerald Vick and Lawson into spots where they could make plays. You know you're not going to shut them out but you try not to let them get 29 and 28. I thought when it got close down the stretch we kind of settled offensively on a couple of possessions for tough 3's."
 
"Both teams played hard and well. But they were able to execute better at times down the stretch than we were."
 
Five quick points from Devon Dotson gave the Jayhawks a 5-0 lead before the contest was 90 seconds old. Collin Gillespie got the Wildcats their first point on a free throw but another 3-pointer, this one by Vick made it 8-1 in favor of the Jayhawks.
 
But Paschall scored seven straight points to pull the Wildcats even at eight at the first official break of the day. Five more points from freshman forward Saddiq Bey made it a 12-0 burst and a 13-8 Villanova lead.
 
However, Kansas – in the person of Dedric Lawson – scored the game's next eight points to reclaim the advantage at 16-13 after 8:05 was in the books. KU's superb defense and Lawson helped the Jayhawks lengthen their lead over the rest of the period. Open looks were hard to come by for the Wildcats and they fell behind 31-23.
 
Some nifty work by Gillespie ignited an 8-0 run for the Wildcats, who tied the contest at 31 on their final offensive possession of the period. Two free throws by the Jayhawks' Charlie Moore with 1.5 seconds to play in the period allowed KU to take a 33-31 lead into the locker room.
 
Gillespie (nine points), Paschall (nine points) and Booth (eight points) combined for 26 of the 'Cats 31 first half points. Villanova connected on just .385 of its first half field goal attempts but forced nine Jayhawks turnovers to help keep the contest tight at the break.
 
If the first 20 minutes were a defensive struggle, the second half was something decidedly different. Sparked by Paschall and Booth, the Wildcats regained the lead early in the period and then went toe to toe with the Jayhawks through the first 8:56 of the period. The contest was deadlocked at 48 when an official timeout was taken at the 11:04 mark.
 
A Bey put-back dunk off a missed 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 54-51 lead at the 9:14 mark. Kansas responded by reeling off the next four points to retake the lead at 55-54 as the contest approached the seven minute mark. Also damaging to the 'Cats cause in this part of the game was the fact that Paschall picked up his fourth personal foul.
 
Kansas used a 10-2 spurt, capped by a Lawson fadeaway jumper in the lane with 3:38 to play to build a 61-56 lead. The Wildcats went into a bit of a scouring drought with Paschall in foul trouble and only Booth able to score effectively. VU kept its foot on the gas and closed the gap to three points in the final minute but couldn't get over the hump.
 
"Booth was awesome – tough, made shots," stated Wright. "I thought Eric was headed towards having that kind of day too before the foul trouble."
 
Exam week is underway so the Wildcats will hit the pause button until next week. Villanova will resume game action until Saturday, Dec. 22 when it meets former BIG EAST rival Connecticut at the home of the BIG EAST Tournament each March, Madison Square Garden. Tipoff in that contest is set for 12:30 p.m.