GREAT COMEBACK

On December 2, 1965, I drove down to Lawrence with great anticipation about the evenings match with defending champion UCLA.  Allen Fieldhouse was packed, of course, and the crowd was electrified.

Unfortunately, second-ranked Kansas came out flat and after 17 minutes were behind 41-22.  At the half the Jayhawks were down 15 points, and the Bruins looked unstoppable.  It was embarrassing, particularly for KU's three southern California starters, Jacque Vaughn, Scot Pollard and Paul Pierce.

At the beginning of the second half, KU went into a zone defense, stopping the Bruins, while closing the gap to 53-51.  "That changed it up quite a bit," forward Raef LaFrentz said.  "It put more pressure on their outside shooters and game them a different look."

Moments later, Vaughn spun around Cameron Dollar for a layup, giving the Hawks a 54-53 lead.  I've never heard it so loud in Allen Fieldhouse  -- the crowd just went nuts.  Everyone was standing, cheering, clapping, and stomping.  After the Jayhawks took the lead for good at 58-57, KU was determined to keep it going and finished 85-70.