No. 2 Kansas romps over LSU in Maui Invitational

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

It didn't matter if the game was played in Hawaii, Halifax or Hong Kong. LSU coach Dale Brown knew his team had no chance against No. 2 Kansas.

The Jayhawks scored the game's first 18 points Monday night and rolled to an 82-53 victory over the Tigers in the first round of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.

"It was a mature, bigger, stronger team that whomped us," Brown said. "It was not a surprise. We knew it would be a learning experience. This is just a good team. We cannot beat them tomorrow or next week. But we might beat them when we mature."

Jerod Haase scored 6 points, Paul Pierce 5 and Scot Pollard 4 in the opening 18-0 spurt as the Jayhawks (2-0) opened an early 25-5 lead.

Kansas controlled both ends of the floor in the first half, especially the defensive end. The Jayhawks' swarming man-to-man defense limited LSU to 9-of-35 shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes, allowing Kansas to open a 45-22 lead at the break.

* NO. 3 WAKE FOREST 86, THE CITADEL 52: At Charleston, S.C., Tim Duncan had 21 points, 12 rebounds and did just about whatever he wanted as the Demon Deacons (2-0) rolled.

* NO. 14 NORTH CAROLINA 86, RICHMOND 75: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Shammond Williams made a pair of 3-pointers in a key key second-half run and Antawn Jamison added 12 points in the final 7:22 as the Tar Heels (1-1) avoided their first home-opening loss since 1929.

* NO. 17 MASSACHUSETTS 59, CHAMINADE 48: Also at the Maui Invitational, Tyrone Weeks scored 19 points, Carmelo Travieso had 16 and James Flint won his head coaching debut with the Minutemen.

* NO. 23 BOSTON COLLEGE 82, NEW HAMPSHIRE 40: At Boston, Danya Abrams scored 16 points before sustaining a bruised knee as the Eagles (2-0) coasted.