CHICAGO, March 16 (UPI) -- Mario Chalmers scored a game-high 19 points Friday as No. 2 Kansas routed Niagara, 107-67, in a first-round NCAA Tournament West Region game.
Kansas started slowly -- the score was 12-12 with 13:10 left in the first half -- but then closed the half on a 40-15 run to take a 52-27 lead at the break.
Kansas out-scored Niagara, 55-40, over the final 20 minutes, and finished with five players in double figures.
Russell Robinson had 16 points and four rebounds, Sherron Collins scored 15 points, Darrell Arthur had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Julian Wright added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the top-seeded Jayhawks (31-4), who avenged two straight first-round NCAA losses (Bucknell and Bradley).
Carron Fisher led Niagara with 17 points and seven rebounds. Lorenzo Miles had 13 points and five rebounds for the 16th-seeded Purple Eagles (23-11), who got into the field of 64 by beating Florida A&M in the play-in game Tuesday.
