Via Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. –Melvin Council Jr. scored 16 points, Tre White added 12 and Bryson Tiller 10 as Kansas defeated Fort Hays State on 71-35 inside Allen Fieldhouse Tuesday night in the KU’s final exhibition match of the 2025-26 season.
The Jayhawks got off to a hot start as they took an early 12-4 lead with 14:20 to play in the first half. Kansas was able to extend the lead to double digits with 12:56 to go as Elmarko Jackson found Tiller wide open in the paint who threw down a dunk to make the score 15-4.
Fort Hays State came back and got within five points to make the score 15-10 with 9:00 left in the first half. However, Kansas answered with a run of its own as Jamari McDowell and White each hit a three pointer to propel the Jayhawks to a 31-15 lead with 2:10 remaining in the first half.
Kansas entered halftime up 33-16 as the Jayhawks went 14-31 from the floor and 3-8 from three. Kansas had nine different players score in the first half with White leading the way going 3-7 from the floor and 1-2 from three for seven points.
The Jayhawks picked up where they left off coming out of halftime. After a couple of made free throws from Council and a defensive stop, White sank another three and Paul Mbiya made a layup to put Kansas up 45-24 with 13:52 left in the game.
With 9:04 left in the game, Tiller threw down a dunk after a Jayden Dawson steal to put Kansas up 53-29. From there, the Jayhawks cruised to a 71-35 win with Fort Hays State’s 35 points being the fewest for an opponent in a KU exhibition contest. Kansas finished the game shooting 27-57 (47.4 percent) and held Fort Hays State to 26.2 percent from the floor.
Council was at the forefront of the 11 different Jayhawks to score on going 5-6 from the floor and 6-6 from the free throw line, while also picking up a game-high six assists. Mbiya and Flory Bidunga dominated the paint grabbing nine rebounds each, also a game high.
UP NEXT
Kansas will host Green Bay to open up the 2025-26 regular season in Allen Fieldhouse on Monday, Nov. 3 with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Monday will mark the first meeting between the Jayhawks and the Phoenix in men’s basketball.
