LAHAINA, Hawaii _ It'll be No. 4-ranked Kansas taking on unranked yet undefeated Dayton in Wednesday's 4 p.m. final of the Maui Invitational.
The 5-1 Jayhawks, who beat NCAA Division II Chaminade by 30 points in a quarterfinal clash on Monday, defeated 4-3 BYU, 71-56, in Tuesday's semifinals at 2,400-seat Lahaina Civic Center, which once again was packed to capacity thanks in part to KU's throng of about 2,000 fans.
David McCormack scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Ochai Agbaji had 14 points, Devon Dotson 13 and eight assists and Udoka Azubuike 11 points and 10 boards, as KU advanced into the Maui finals for the second time in as many trips. KU beat Vanderbilt to win the Maui title in 2015.
Marcus Garrett added seven points, six rebounds and three assists for the Jayhawks, who won their fifth straight game in Maui and seventh in the past eight contests.
TJ Haws scored 16 points for BYU, which hit 9 of 33 threes to KU's 4 of 18 from beyond the arc.
Dayton (5-0), meanwhile, hammered 6-1 Virginia Tech, 89-62, in Tuesday's other semifinal.
McCormack scored eight points, while Agbaji and Dotson had seven apiece the first half as KU led, 29-27, at the break. Haws had eight points and Alex Barcello and Kolby Lee five apiece for BYU.
Garrett, who didn't score the first half, had five points in a 13-4 run that opened a 42-31 lead at 15:24. Azubuike and Agbaji had three points and McCormack two in the surge. KU expanded the lead to 48-35 at 9:41. And 50-35 at 9:31. The bucket to give KU a 15-point lead came when Agbaji dived to save the basketball from heading out of bounds. He passed to Dotson for a layup. Azubuike followed with a bucket to make it 52-35 at 8:25.
KU misfired on 7 of 9 threes the first half, while BYU was 5 of 17. It was a fast-paced half, KU committing eight turnovers; the Cougars 10.
BYU led 19-18 when KU went on a 6-0 run to grab a 24-19 advantage at 3:11. Azubuike had four points, including a steal and breakaway dunk that thrilled the crowd and was certain to be one of SportsCenter's plays of the day.
KU led 27-21 following an Agbaji three, but it was just a two point game at the break.
KU's Christian Braun missed a three on the final play of the half. KU coach Bill Self went with just two bigs most of the game. Silvio De Sousa played one minute until entering with 2:20 left and KU up by 17.
