McCullar scores career-best 34 points, No. 2 Kansas pulls away late for 75-60 win over Yale

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kevin McCullar Jr. was going IN for a layup in practice this week when one of his Kansas teammates landed on his head.

You’d never know that he had tweaked his neck Friday night.

The veteran guard poured in a career-high 34 points against Yale, taking over during a second-half run that gave the Jayhawks the lead, and the nation’s second-ranked team eventually pulled away for a 75-60 win over the Bulldogs.

“He’s been our best player the whole year. Proved it again today,” said Jayhawks reserve Nicolas Timberlake, who added 13 points. “Got nicked up in practice the other day and played through it. Easily one of the toughest players I’ve played with.”

Dajuan Harris Jr. added 10 points and six assists for the Jayhawks (11-1), who trailed by as many as 11 in the first half and by a point at the break before making the final appear much more comfortable than it was all night.

Yale (7-6) shut down Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, kept the Jayhawks from getting into transition and held its own on the glass. It also got 13 points apiece from guards August Mahoney and Bez Mbeng, who kept the Bulldogs in the game.

“We didn’t play well early,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “The last 24 minutes I thought we were pretty good.”

Kansas has had trouble with trap-type games this season, stumbling past Eastern Illinois between the Maui Invitational and a showdown with UConn, and struggling to overcome a slow start against Kansas City before facing rival Missouri.

That was the case again in the Jayhawks’ last game before an eight-day holiday break.

They missed easy shots in the paint, took poor shots from the perimeter and allowed Yale to gain some confidence when Mahoney and John Poulakidas began knocking down 3-pointers. By the time Danny Wolf knocked down a…