LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mevlin Council Jr. and Elmarko Jackson each scored 17 points and Kansas defeated previously unbeaten No. 17 Tennessee 81-76 in the third-place game of the Players Era Championship on Wednesday night.
Tre White added 14 points for Kansas (6-2) before fouling out and Florey Bidunga scored 13.
Nata Ament led Tennessee (7-1) with 20 points. Jaylen Carey and Ja’Kobe Gillespie each scored 11 points and J.P. Estrella added 10.
Kansas, which trailed most of the second half, took the lead with 5:36 remaining on Paul Mbiya’s layup and extended the lead to four points at 68-64 on a driving layup by Jackson with 5:08 left.
The Jayhawks extended the lead to seven points at 75-68 with 2:02 left before Tennessee cut the lead to 75-73 with 56 seconds left. Bidunga made two free throws and stole a pass with 20 seconds left, and the Jayhawks held on for the win.
With 15:06 remaining the second half, Tennessee had built a 12-point lead. But, the Jayhawks ran off eight straight points on two 3-pointers and two free throws by Jackson to pull within 55-51 with 12:09 remaining.
Tennessee built back a six-point advantage with 8:21 left, but the Jayhawks’ Melvin Councill Jr. made two layups and two free throws to tie the game at 62-62 with 7:25 left.
Up next
Tennessee: At Syracuse on Tuesday.
Kansas: Hosts Connecticut on Tuesday.
__
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Kirk Kern, The Associated Press
