LAWRENCE, Kan. Charlie Moore had not shown the ability to score in bunches during his first nine games at Kansas.
That all changed on Tuesday night as the sophomore transfer from Cal hit six 3s in nine tries and scored 18 points as the No. 1-ranked Jayhawks beat South Dakota of the Summit League 89-53 at Allen Fieldhouse.
The 5-foot-11 Chicago native, who had three points the first half in helping KU to a 37-27 lead, scored 15 second-half points.
He set a career high in 3s, too his previous best was five, at Cal in a game versus Colorado.
Dedric Lawson added 16 points and 14 rebounds and Lagerald Vick scored 12 points as Kansas overcame a sluggish first half that Bill Self called brutal and awful during his halftime interview.
Moore had by far his best offensive performance as a Jayhawk. His previous best was nine points against Tennessee on Nov. 23.
Freshman David McCormack contributed 12 points and six boards, also his best game so far at Kansas. He went 14 minutes, Moore 21.
KU ultimately raced past the mid-major Coyotes (6-6), who were led by the 28-point outing of guard Stanley Umude.
Kansas coach Self was not pleased with a spotty first-half performance that saw Mitch Lightfoot emerge as the Jayhawks leading scorer with seven points in nine minutes.
Kansas, which hit 51.5 percent of its shots for the game, was 14 of 35 from the field the first half in opening a 37-27 lead. The Jayhawks misfired on seven of eight 3s. KU finished 9 of 23 from 3.
South Dakota, meanwhile, hit 11 of 24 overall the first half for 45.8 percent including 3. The Coyotes hit 37.9 percent for the game, including 3 of 13 from the 3-point line.
Lightfoot scored seven points in nine minutes, while Lawson and Devon Dotson (eight points, six assists) had six apiece in the first half. KU led 37-27 at the break.
Umude scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the half to lead all scorers.
South Dakota committed five early turnovers while missing its first shots as KU took a 9-0 lead at the 14:44 mark. The Jayhawks were sloppy as well, committing three turnovers while hitting 4 of 8 shots.
Quentin Grimes had opened the game with a bucket, getting the roll on a 5-foot fadeaway 20 seconds into the contest.
