Advertisement
basketball Edit

Kansas knocks off Mizzou 109-101 in Rivalry Renewed alumni game

INDEPENDENCE, Missouri — The waistlines were a little bigger for some. The vertical leaps a little shorter for others.

But despite the stakes and the size of the crowd being substantially smaller than they used to be when these teams met, the alumni teams from Kansas and Missouri gave the crowd at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena a little taste of Border War history Saturday night. A game that resembled the Harlem Globetrotters or NBA All-Star festivities featured plenty of familiar faces, though.

Brandon and Kareem Rush traded 3-pointers, Mario Chalmers directed Kansas’ offense the same way he had the Miami Heat’s and Rickey Paulding put down a couple of thunderous dunks reminiscent of the early 2000s. Players traded trash talk, albeit less R-rated than in games past, but like he had been a dozen years ago, Brandon Rush and his 46 points were simply too much to overcome for Missouri as the Tigers fell 109-101 in front of about 2,000 people in Independence.

Kareem Rush admits he was a little disappointed in his younger brother showing him up and outscoring him, but he was more excited about the inaugural event’s turnout and the opportunity to get back on the court in the black and gold.

“It feels good; a lot of these guys I haven’t seen in a long time,” Kareem said after the game. “Guys like Keyon (Dooling), Johnnie Parker, Ricky Paulding, we played together, so for all of us to come back and compete again against one of our biggest rivals in KU was a dream come true.”

Led by Chalmers and the younger Rush, the Kansas squad jumped out to an early 21-10 lead early in the first of two, 20-minute halves. Rush, an NBA champion and former first-round pick who last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2016-17, found his shooting stroke early on, hitting 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to extend the Jayhawks’ lead. The Tigers countered with Stefhon Hannah, who played for the Tigers from 2006-08, before a 10-year career in overseas and in the NBA G League. Hannah hadn’t lost his deft shooting touch though, knocking in a trio of 3-pointers to bring the Tigers back within five midway through the first half. After another Brandon Rush 3, Kareem Rush showed off the scoring prowess he displayed in two seasons at Missouri, scoring 14 points in the half to tie the game at 54 at the break.

After being somewhat competitive in the first half, the game soon descended into a 3-point shooting contest, with players from both side launching away with little to no defense outside of the occasional hand in the face. Rush and Chalmers — with the help of former KU sharpshooter Brady Morningstar — again took over and stretched the Kansas team’s lead back to double digits with 10 minutes to go.

The once-hot Hannah went ice cold, missing six 3-pointers in a row at one point as the KU contingent began the Rock Chalk Jayhawk chant. After the final seconds had ticked off, players on both sides did something they wouldn’t have dared of during the real rivalry — taking pictures together, slapping hands and promising to meet up again before next year’s game. The rivalry and talent level might not have been what they were when these two teams met for real, but for one night the fans in attendance had a chance to remember the Border War.

“It’s a shame that they took (the rivalry) away,” former Tiger forward Leo Lyons said. “You see what we did here tonight with just minimal effort and Kareem got this many people together, so I hope they could figure out a way to keep this rivalry going. I think our cities needs that.”

Advertisement