How an injured Hunter Dickinson led ‘resilient, tough’ Jayhawks to win vs. Samford

Kansas senior center Hunter Dickinson, who scored 19 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in a triumphant return from a right-shoulder dislocation 12 days ago, waved his arms over his head while staring down a pro-Samford crowd as the final horn sounded in No. 4-seed Kansas’ 93-89 victory over the No. 13 seed Bulldogs.

Dickinson was one of many heroes on a night KU held off a Samford team that sliced a 22-point deficit to one late. KJ Adams had 20 points and six assists. Nick Timberlake scored a KU personal best 19 points. Johnny Furphy added 16 points and Dajuan Harris posted 13 points and seven assists in the first-round NCAA Midwest Regional battle Thursday night at Delta Center.

The Jayhawks defeated a Samford squad that appeared energized by 17,404 fans who decided to back the underdog during the entirety of the Bulldogs’ comeback.

“I don’t know about epic, but guys, we are saying he’s healthy and all that stuff. Physically, I think he’s pretty good,” KU coach Bill Self said of the 7-foot-2 Dickinson. “(But) he hasn’t had any rhythm in practice. For him to go get 19 and 20 is pretty good considering what he’s gone through the last two weeks.”

Dickinson — he shook hands with Harris at midcourt after gesturing to the enemy fans, then entering the handshake line — after the game said: “We’re resilient. We’re tough. When things weren’t going our way — they came back from like 19 points (22) — a lot of teams would have folded. That’s what happens in March. A lot of runs happen like that. The crowd gets into it. It is what it is. We were able to come out with the win.”

A win that moves KU into a second-round clash against Gonzaga. Game time is 2:15 p.m. Central on Saturday, with a live broadcast on CBS.

“It was just one of those games … there’s no control from the sideline in that game. It’s just guys out there playing,” Self said. The Jayhawks tied a season high with 18 turnovers to Samford’s seven.

Samford hit 16 3s in 27 attempts to KU’s 6 of 18.

“I don’t think I’ve ever played in a game — ever, ever — where there was never a break in the action,” Self said after the Jayhawks improved to 23-10 to Samford’s 29-6 mark. “There was always something going on, them pressing, run and jumps, two on the ball. There was never a time you threw the ball in easily out of bounds. They forced you to do that all the time, which is great strategy if you have 12 guys.

Samford had 10 players compete seven or more minutes. Self used a six-man rotation.

“We had to play six guys. It’s hard to do when you are playing out of foul issues, too,” Self said. Harris, Elmarko Jackson and Timberlake had four fouls apiece.

Concerning Timberlake … he was involved in the biggest play of the game.

KU led 90-89 when he accepted a deep pass from Harris and raced in for a breakaway dunk. A.J. Staton-McCray went up high for what appeared to be a clean block — at least it appeared that way to the pro-Samford crowd.

A foul was called and Timberlake’s two free throws made it 92-89 with 14.7 seconds left. Jermaine Marshall missed a possible game-tying 3. Jackson saved the possession by chasing the rebound and knocking the ball off a Bulldog player, with KU gaining possession up three with 3.9 seconds left.

Furphy inbounded to Harris, who threw it back to Furphy. He was fouled and hit a free throw with 0.9 seconds left, wrapping up the four-point win.

“I was definitely fouled on the breakaway,” Timberlake said. Of his 19-point outing, which included 3-of-6 3-point shooting and 6-of-7 foul shooting, he said: “I think it started this morning at shootaround. I was feeling pretty good. It just carried over into the game.”

When asked if he had a good view of the Timberlake layup try — one that followed a possession in which Dickinson fired a full-court pass to Adams, who slammed to make it 90-86 — Self said: “The second play, if I’m not mistaken, when KJ dunked it, I think the (defender) fell down, which was a huge break for us. (On Timberlake’s play), I thought Nick attacked the basket well. He’s a much better athlete than what a lot of people think. He attacked it strong, just like he should.”

Self, who said he was “thrilled with the win,” summed up the night this way: “Yes, we’re relieved, excited and proud to get an opportunity to advance. I thought Samford was great. I’ve never played against anybody that there’s never a break in the action. They’re always pressuring in some way, shape or form. Of course, the way they shot the second half was pretty much incredible.

“That’s my first experience with Bucky (McMillan, Samford coach) Ball. I’d as soon not play against it again for a while. It’s a hard game for us with very little depth. You have to play guys the entire game. We knew it’s going to be like that. There’s just never a break in the action where you can catch your breath.”

He continued.

“First half, we should have been up more than 10 (48-38 at half),” Self said. “The second half, when we got out ahead, there’s no question they were the dominant team after that. I think we played kind of not to lose and they played in attack mode. I thought they were great.

“... I’m proud of our guys. They toughed it out.”