Healthy Moss drops 21 points in KU’s 112-57 win over Monmouth
Known as an accurate three-point shooter when healthy, Kansas senior guard Isaiah Moss produced a game-high 21 points in just 15 minutes of playing time against Monmouth Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“He had 21 on six shots,” KU coach Bill Self said, marveling at 6-foot-5 graduate transfer Moss’ line after the Jayhawks’ 112-57 rout of the tiny New Jersey school.
“There won’t be a lot of teams that won’t guard him. He got some open looks. Still, you’ve got to make them. It’s encouraging to have a guy like that they have to guard, who will stretch the defense,” Self added.
Moss — who hit 2 of 6 threes and scored eight points in his KU debut against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 8 — converted 5 of 6 threes and was 6 of 6 from the free-throw line Friday.
The former University of Iowa player who missed KU’s opener versus Duke because of a hamstring injury came off the bench Friday as Self started big men Udoka Azubuike (12 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) and Silvio De Sousa (11 points, six rebounds) alongside guards Devon Dotson (17 points, four assists), Marcus Garrett and Ochai Agbaji.
Sophomore forward David McCormack came off the bench and scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds with one crowd-pleasing block.
“Coming off the bench, we want to bring energy,” said Moss. He hit 4 threes in 4 tries the first half and scored 14 points as KU led at halftime 59-21. KU’s bench outscored Monmouth’s bench 66-33.
“It starts with defense, then letting the game come to us offensively,” Moss said.
Moss’ five three-pointers were one off his career high at Iowa, where he played three seasons before transferring to KU. His career high in points at Iowa was 32.
“Seeing that first one go in helps,” Moss said. “The rim gets bigger. I was grateful my teammates got me the ball. We moved the ball well on offense. If I’m open I’m going to shoot it.”
KU hit 14 of 30 threes to Monmouth’s 4 of 22. Kansas freshman Christian Braun was 3 of 3 from three-point range and scored 11 points for the Jayhawks.
“I thought everybody played well tonight,” Self said. “Everybody could have played more (minutes) tonight. Isaiah is a good shooter,” he added, referring back to Moss. “We’ve said that all along. We can run bad offense and come away with three points. We shot it well as a team, but nobody shot it near like him. He was terrific.”
And he was healthy.
“I feel fine. I’ve been feeling fine,” Moss said, noting he’s fully recovered from his hamstring problems. I’ve been getting treatment multiple times every day — different type exercises, stretching, massages. It seems I’m getting better every day. I’ll keep working,” he added.
Monmouth, which led Kansas State by nine points at halftime Wednesday before ultimately losing by 19 in Manhattan, wasn’t nearly as competitive against No. 5-ranked Kansas.
The Jayhawks (2-1) who rolled to early leads of 19-2, 26-4 and 45-19 thanks in part to the three-point marksmanship of Moss, sizzled in hitting 56.1 percent of their shots to (1-3) Monmouth’s 30 percent.
KU junior forward De Sousa hit the first three of his college career on his first attempt during the second half.
“I wanted to hit another one, but I had to slow down. It felt great,” DeSousa said, smiling.
Jayhawks freshman Tristan Enaruna, who finished with 11 points, put down a high-flying, one-handed jam with 12 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game, giving KU an 83-29 lead.
Also, walk-on Chris Teahan hit a three-pointer to put KU over the century mark, 101-45, at 4:43.
In an interesting end to the game, Monmouth’s George Papas stole the ball from Enaruna, who was dribbling out the clock, and went all the way for a dunk. Papas barked at Enaruna and was given a technical.
KU’s Michael Jankovich (five points) hit two free throws to end the contest. Monmouth coach King Rice apologized for Papas stealing the ball and also for his players exchanging words with KU fans on the way to the locker room after the game.
Monmouth missed its first 10 shots and committed six turnovers in falling behind 21-2 at the 11:32 mark. At that point, Dotson and Azubuike had seven points apiece. Monmouth was 0 for 11 at 11:00 with KU up 26-4.
After missing another shot to go 0 for 12, Monmouth converted its first bucket at 10:31 on an inside shot by Mustapha Traore. At that point, KU led 26-6.
KU used a 15-0 run to stretch a 42-19 lead to 57-19 with a minute to go before halftime. In that run, Moss had five points and Braun five of his 11 points.
It was easy to see why KU led by so many points at half.
Moss had 14 points, Dotson 13 with three steals and four assists, Azubuike nine points with four rebounds and two blocks, Braun eight points, Enaruna five points and McCormack four points, three rebounds and a vicious block in the half.
KU hit 62.5 percent of its first-half shots, going 8 of 14 from three and 11 of 13 from the line. Monmouth was a chilly 23.1 percent shooting the first half.
Game notes: KU leads the all-time series against Monmouth 1-0. … Monmouth is now 1-17 against ranked opponents and 0-8 versus top-ten ranked schools all time. It’s only victory against a ranked team was over Notre Dame in November of 2015 in Orlando, Florida. … KU has won 22 straight games in Allen. … The Jayhawks are 16-1 all-time against current membership of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. … KU is 790-113 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse. … Self is 475-107 at KU and 682-212 overall. … Kansas concludes a three-game homestand when it plays host to East Tennessee State at 7 p.m., Tuesday. The contest is a campus round game for the 2019 Maui Invitational.
KU still recruiting
KU on Friday afternoon announced the signing of Latrell Jossell, a 6-foot-0, 160-pound combo guard from Central High in Keller, Texas. KU thus far has a 2020 recruiting class of high schoolers Jossell, Bryce Thompson and Gethro Muscadin as well as preseason juco All-American Tyon Grant-Foster.
The class is ranked No. 7 nationally by Rivals.com.
“It was a good week. We had to get those three,” Self said of Thompson, No. 19-ranked by Rivals.com; No. 131 Muscadin and Grant-Foster.
Self was speaking in his pre-game interview on the Jayhawk radio network.
“This (unrated Jossell) was a bonus late. We’re still involved (with others). I’d like to sign one more; I would,” Self added. “One more in theory could put us one over (limit of 13 scholarship players).
“We know we’re going to have four (incoming players). One more could put us one over, but with the way things are working now with so many kids declaring and trying (for the NBA) I don’t think that would ever be an issue. I’m excited where we’re at, but we’re not done.”
KU, which is one under the scholarship limit of 13, loses two seniors (Azubuike, Moss) to graduation. So the four signees have put the program one over the limit for next season. Dotson is expected to leave for the NBA Draft. De Sousa, McCormack and Agbaji also could turn pro.
The early-signing period ends Wednesday. KK Robinson, a combo guard from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, said Thursday he will choose either Arkansas or KU on Nov. 28. Arkansas is believed the heavy favorite.
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 9:23 PM with the headline "Healthy Moss drops 21 points in KU’s 112-57 win over Monmouth."
