SAN DIEGO — Darryn Peterson made four 3-pointers and scored 28 points, and fourth-seeded Kansas squandered most of a 26-point lead before holding off scrappy NCAA Tournament newcomer Cal Baptist 68-60 on Friday night.
Kansas (24-10) advances to face St. John’s in the second round on Sunday in a matchup between Hall of Fame coaches Bill Self of the Jayhawks and Rick Pitino of the Red Storm. The No. 5-seeded Red Storm beat Northern Iowa 79-53 in the East Region bracket. Kansas hasn’t survived the opening weekend since 2022, when it won the national title.
The Jayhawks led 48-22 just four minutes into the second half but the No. 13-seeded Lancers, backed by a small but loud student section, never gave up as the Jayhawks went cold for most of the last six minutes.
Dominique Daniels Jr. scored 25 points for the Lancers (25-9), including two 3-pointers in the closing minutes that brought the crowd at Viejas Arena to life as the Lancers went on an 18-2 run. They pulled to 66-60 on a layup by Martel Williams with 1:16 to go.
They got the ball back but Daniels bricked a mid-range jumper with 22 seconds left to take the air out of the rally. Kansas’ Tre White had an emphatic slam dunk with 13 seconds left to finish with 12 points.
Cal Baptist will make the 100-mile bus ride back to Riverside having experienced the NCAA Tournament for the first time after winning the final Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
Peterson, a freshman who is a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, scored Kansas’ last seven points of the first half, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, for a 38-18 lead.
Peterson, who has had serious cramping issues this season, bent over and pulled his jersey partway over his face early in the second half but stayed in the game.
