Tre White scored 22 points and Tyran Stokes added 15 points and seven rebounds in his much-anticipated debut as No. 17 Kansas extended its winning streak in home openers to 54 seasons with a 95-65 victory over Fordham on Monday in Lawrence, Kan.
Leroy Blyden Jr. also scored 15 points and Melvin Council Jr. added 10 as the Jayhawks first led by double digits less than 12 minutes into the game and held off a second-half surge by the Rams.
Keanu Dawes had a team-high nine rebounds for Kansas, which shot 58.3% from the floor and had a 50-33 rebounding advantage while overcoming 17 turnovers.
Purdue transfer Trey Kaufman-Renn scored nine points over 23 minutes in his Kansas debut. Kaufman-Renn was a second-round draft pick by the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves but did not sign with the team and joined the Jayhawks’ program after filing a lawsuit seeking a sixth college season.
Hawaii transfer Akira Jacobs scored 20 points and Stephen F. Austin transfer Lateef Patrick Jr. added 13 for Fordham. Jacobs made a career-high five shots from 3-point range on six attempts. The Rams shot 31.9% from the floor and went 13-of-33 (39.4%) from 3-point range.
Rikus Schulte was held to two points after he averaged 10.7 for the Rams last season. Amir Lindsey had seven assists for Fordham but went 1-of-12 from the floor.
White was in control in the first half for the Jayhawks scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting as Kansas led 43-31 at the break. The Jayhawks shot 53.6% from the floor before halftime when they led by as many as 16 points.
A 10-2 run brought Fordham within 54-48 with 13:27 remaining before Kansas regained complete control. The Jayhawks reeled off a 7-0 run in a one-minute stretch and extended the dominance to a 19-3 run to lead 73-51 with 8:47 left on the clock.