Kansas men's basketball star freshman guard Darryn Peterson had struggled most of the night, but he saved his best for last.
Peterson drilled back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute to silence United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas, and lift No. 11 Kansas past the No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders 64-61 on Monday night.
Peterson finished with 19 points, including the two daggers that turned a tight game into a Jayhawks comeback. Melvin Council Jr. added 16 points and Flory Bidunga scored 14 while grabbing seven rebounds and protecting the rim during a pivotal late stretch.
Texas Tech’s LeJuan Watts matched Peterson with 19 points, but the Red Raiders could not close after Kansas ended the game on a 14-2 run.
Kansas coach Bill Self watched his team weather a hot shooting start from Tech and early turnovers before grinding its way back. The Red Raiders fired away from deep in the opening minutes, attempting 12 three-pointers in just over seven minutes, but Kansas countered with steady inside scoring from Bidunga and Council.
The Jayhawks used a late 10-4 push to take a 32-29 lead into halftime, then fell behind again when Tech opened the second half on an 11-0 run. Kansas answered with defense and timely buckets, climbing back within two before another Tech surge made it 59 56 with under four minutes to play.
Peterson tied it with a long 3 after a turnover, then came back down and buried another to put Kansas ahead for good with 44 seconds left. Texas Tech missed two late chances to answer, sealing the Jayhawks’ comeback.
Kansas heads home to face the Utah Utes on Saturday on FOX at 1:30 p.m. CST at Allen Fieldhouse. With the win the Jayhawks have now won six Big 12 games in a row and move to 17-5 overall and 7-2 in conference play.